Vendor satisfaction among UK and Irish MSPs halves as AI prompts rethink
GTIA’s latest channel study finds providers in the UK and Ireland reassessing long-standing supplier ties. New AI vendors are the temptation, and partner programs look out of date
- The share of UK and Ireland providers saying they are beating their business expectations fell to 20% in 2026, from 31%
- Some 30% of UK and Ireland providers call themselves ‘AI-driven’
- Just 2% of UK and Ireland respondents see the channel as diminishing
- The full report and regional briefs are available to GTIA members only
Low satisfaction hands providers bargaining power. Providers weighing newer AI suppliers are in a position to press incumbent vendors for flexible program tiers, better terms and practical enablement before they renew. Vendors whose programs still reward resale volume over services and expertise risk losing attention, and the providers best placed are those that consolidate onto fewer, better-aligned suppliers and negotiate from strength.
“There’s no one partner programme anymore”Carolyn April, vice-president, research and market intelligence, GTIA
The share of UK and Ireland IT service providers “very satisfied” with their vendors fell from 37% in 2025 to 19% in 2026, according to the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) State of the Channel 2026 study, as first reported by IT Europa on 19 May.
GTIA published regional briefs from the study on 12 May. In the UK and Ireland, roughly eight in 10 providers or more expect AI and cybersecurity services to drive growth over the next two years, and more than a third say 11–25% of their revenue already comes from AI-related products and services. Skills and talent shortages are the biggest challenge for more than a third.
The drop is not confined to the region. GTIA’s headline findings, presented at its North America forum in March, showed 54% fewer providers very satisfied with vendor relationships than a year earlier, with most belonging to five to 15 partner programs. Carolyn April, GTIA’s vice-president of research and market intelligence, told IT Europa that, with new AI suppliers arriving, providers have far more vendors to evaluate than they have had for a long time. She also cautioned that self-reported AI revenue can include AI features vendors have simply added to products providers already sell.
Sources
- IT Europa, “GTIA warns vendor satisfaction among UK MSPs has halved in a year”, 19 May 2026. https://www.iteuropa.com/news/gtia-warns-vendor-satisfaction-among-uk-msps-has-halved-year
- GTIA, “State of the Channel 2026: A Global Industry in Motion”, blog, 12 May 2026. https://gtia.org/blog/state-of-the-channel-2026-a-global-industry-in-motion
- GTIA, “The Channel’s New Reality: Hybrid Models, AI Momentum & Market Discipline”, blog, 10 March 2026. https://gtia.org/blog/the-channels-new-reality-hybrid-models-ai-momentum-market-discipline
