Dispatch
What the channel knows but won’t say out loud
Research, analysis and perspective from inside the technology channel, without the vendor spin or the conference-circuit optimism.
Avant introduced Orion and The Grid and does not know what they will cost
Avant introduced Orion and The Grid at its summit in Dallas recently, an AI model and a data layer built on 17 years of its deal history, with a beta planned for the first quarter of 2027.
AppDirect bought a supplier and the channel has questions to answer
With its acquisition of CCI Network Services, AppDirect owns another business supplying the services it distributes. For aggregators that rely on distributors to reach advisors, that raises some practical questions about how they'll compete.
ScanSource wants to deliver what its advisors sell
MicroAge could help advisors take on larger projects. The terms will determine how much of that opportunity they keep.
From the wire
Recent articles and research
The Buyer Nobody Expected
Digital Realty is buying Columbia Capital. Columbia Capital owns a piece of Telarus and Bluewave. A supplier is about to inherit an equity position inside the cap table of a top-three TSD (technology services distributor). Nobody in the channel press has said so out loud.
The residual question returns
On June 28, TPx’s parent filed for bankruptcy. The coverage will be about the debt. The number that actually decides your year is the one nobody prints: how much of your book rides on a company that just lost control of its own balance sheet.
Is AppDirect a TSD? The Answer Matters More Than You Think
AppDirect has built its channel business by acquiring TSDs. It also insists it is not one. A supplier portfolio analysis spanning 1,018 unique suppliers and seven years of acquisition strategy reveals why that distinction is becoming the most important question in the channel.
COEO Acquires S-NET, and the Mid-Market Gains a Platform
A 20-year independent operator joins a deliberate roll-up. What the deal signals about supplier consolidation in the channel.
The PE Thesis Just Got Louder
Charlesbank bought a supplier. It already owns the advisor. The market should be asking whether those are two bets or one.
What a Billion-Dollar Valuation Tells You About the Advisor Model
Bridgepointe crossed a billion. Charlesbank reinvested. Carlyle AlpInvest came in. The capital is the least interesting part of the story.
Watch
Conversations from inside the channel, on YouTube.
COEO acquires S-NET: a different kind of roll-up
YouTubeThe Same Problem, Two Sides. Nobody’s Saying It to Each Other
YouTubeThe Channel Runs on Hope. We Built the Alternative
YouTubeThe TSD supplier map the channel has never seen
754 suppliers. Four distributors. 15 segments. For the first time, independent data on who carries what, and what that means for advisors, suppliers, and anyone making TSD decisions.
Why the Pay-to-Play Model Is Losing Advisors
The pay-to-play model has been losing advisor trust for years. The advisors who’ve been around long enough know it. Here’s why the model is breaking, and what comes next.
Your Advisory Board Has 12 People. Your Market Has 10,000
12 advisors shaping strategy for 10,000. The math doesn’t close, and the blind spot is costing suppliers millions in misallocated channel spend.
The Intelligence Gap: What Advisors Know That Suppliers Do Not
Advisors sit on a mountain of deal data that suppliers never see. Here is what that asymmetry costs both sides.
Five Things the Channel Gets Wrong About AI
The channel is talking about AI. Most of the conversation is missing the point. Here are the five most common mistakes.
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