Generative AI (GenAI) is transitioning from hype to practical, scalable deployment across the Asia Pacific region. At Canalys Forums APAC 2025 in Vietnam, industry leaders and channel partners highlighted how AI adoption is accelerating and creating significant opportunities for businesses.
AI Demand and Channel Partner Opportunities
Sheena Wee, Principal Analyst, Omdia, said, “There is a gap between AI revenue and AI demand. 25 percent of channel partners frequently see customers requesting projects with GenAI POCs. AI demand is converging. There is a shared AI priority. Channel is building on AI capabilities.”
“CXOs are driving AI deals and not CIOs or CTOs alone. Internal and external adoptions of agentic AI are happening. There is opportunity for channel partners. Majority of customers rely on partners for AI. AI services, AI software development, advanced data services, and AI products are some of the major emerging opportunities,” Sheena Wee said.
The panel discussion on GenAI Advantage: from Pilot to Profit focused on sustainable business models, ecosystem collaboration, compliance, and scaling AI-driven services.
According to Canalys, service providers are moving from pilot projects to commercially scalable AI offerings. Partners are building GenAI practices around workflow automation, customer experience enhancement, and industry-specific solutions. Canalys emphasized that profitability depends on strong governance, data control, and clear customer outcomes. Collaboration across ecosystems — between distributors like TD SYNNEX, cloud providers, software vendors, and ISVs — is critical to accelerating AI adoption while managing risk.
From Product to Solutions: Channel Partners’ Role
Mohamed Noorul Huq, COE and Solutions Director, Tech Data – A TD SYNNEX Company, said, “We have taken a major step in destination AI. There are horizontal use cases and vertical use cases. We are moving from product to solutions. We are able to provide support to partners during their AI journey.”
“We are guiding partners to deploy AI virtual assistance. We built 50 plus use cases. It gives snapshot of AI deployment,” Mohamed Noorul Huq said.
Daniel Sim, Senior Director, Vertiv, remarked, “AI is a big opportunity.”
Lance Cheang, Managing Director, VLAN Asia, highlighted potential challenges, saying, “Preparing email on copilot will become similar. It will not be customized if everyone is using the same AI solution for writing an email. AI can bring emotional issues to a customer.”
He explained how an AI solution assisted a financial investment company with KYC-related queries of a customer:
“We took 15 minutes to create content from a large presentation presented at a tech conference. Partners can ensure that you are the human behind all AI projects,” Lance Cheang said.
AI Adoption and Governance in the Philippines
William Emmanuel Yu, Chief Technology Officer, Novare Technologies, said, “AI adoption is growing. Concerns about safety and governance are there in the Philippines. One of the most successful strategies we noticed is that putting a finance person to finance person at the client side is bringing more result.”
“One of the most successful AI projects for us was money laundering project. Removal of call center agents was the earlier projects. Our profit may be less during this project. But customers will benefit in a big way if they scale AI deployments,” William Emmanuel Yu said.
Microsoft Copilot and AI Integration
Gerald Leo, ASEAN Channel Sales Director, Microsoft, explained, “Copilot of Microsoft is everywhere. AI is adopted across several organizations. Customer service is an obvious use case where RoI is measured. We need to think about how RoI is assisting customers. We are not thinking about replacing human with AI services because it is a complex issue.”
IBM Highlights Emerging AI Opportunities
Purushothama Shenoy, CTO of IBM, emphasized trust and transparency as fundamental principles: “Modernizing application is the big AI use case. There is less money for innovation. GenAI is helping in accelerating modernization. Code assistance is quick. Within IBM, we achieved 30-40 percent improvement in developing work thanks to code assistant.”
Key Takeaways for APAC Channel Partners
Growing AI Opportunities: AI services, software development, advanced analytics, and products are expanding rapidly.
Human + AI Collaboration: AI augments human expertise; partners remain critical in delivering value.
Ecosystem Partnerships: Effective collaboration between distributors, cloud providers, ISVs, and software vendors drives scalable AI adoption.
Governance and Compliance: Strong governance, data control, and clear outcomes ensure profitable AI deployment.
Generative AI is no longer a pilot experiment — it is driving measurable business outcomes. APAC channel partners are strategically positioning themselves as enablers of AI transformation, combining human expertise with advanced AI solutions to deliver long-term customer value.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
