AI Is a Gateway to New Channel Opportunities: A Conversation with Intel’s Maurits Tichelman

AI is moving from experimentation to practical business outcomes—and creating significant new opportunities across the channel. In this episode of Beyond Distribution with GTDC, host Frank Vitagliano speaks with Maurits Tichelman, general manager of Intel’s EMEA partner sales organization, about the rapid evolution of these technologies and distribution's role in their successful adoption.

Tichelman explains why successful AI strategies must begin with clearly defined outcomes rather than technology alone, and how the channel can take advantage of these opportunities. He also highlights the readiness issues that can stall deployments—from data quality and infrastructure to security, sovereignty and regulatory compliance.

Distributors are the orchestrators in this ecosystem, connecting silicon providers, ISVs, cybersecurity specialists, systems integrators and solution providers. He suggests that their local knowledge and ability to scale and help assemble complete solutions make them critical to helping customers navigate complexity and adopt next-generation technologies. The complexity and increasing business value of AI creates true opportunities for the IT community—with the channel sitting firmly in the center.

How can local AI processing improve security, reduce latency and control costs today? Why are data readiness, infrastructure, governance and compliance essential to successful deployments? Check out Episode 79 of Beyond Distribution with GTDC for a forward-looking conversation on these topics and more.