Why the IT Channel Again Needs Real Community

4 min. read

AI is reshaping business models, cybersecurity is becoming a management-level responsibility, and many companies are facing mounting pressure to transform. At the same time, the IT channel often lacks precisely what matters most in moments like these: open, peer-level dialogue.

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This is precisely where the Global Technology Industry Association steps in. The global, vendor-neutral community organisation – born out of the former CompTIA Community – aims to create dedicated spaces across the DACH region where knowledge is shared, experiences are discussed openly, and new perspectives can take shape. No sales agenda, no traditional vendor interests.

What is the Global Technology Industry Association? GTIA is a global, vendor-neutral industry organisation for the IT channel, emerging from the former CompTIA Community. It brings together MSPs, systems integrators, vendors, and distributors in working groups, interest groups, and regional forums. In the DACH region, GTIA organises the Community Forum alongside thematic initiatives covering areas such as cybersecurity, AI, and channel strategy.

This was on full display at the GTIA DACH Community Forum in Munich. Around 90 representatives from MSPs, systems integrators, vendors, and distributors spent less time talking about products and more time grappling with a far more fundamental question: where is the channel headed – technologically, organisationally, and as a human endeavour?

The Channel Is Looking for Direction

Many conversations at the event revolved less around individual technologies and more around the uncertainty that is palpable across so many organizations right now. AI is transforming workflows at a rapid pace. Cybersecurity is growing more complex. Regulatory requirements such as NIS2 are adding further pressure on businesses and IT service providers alike.

At the same time, there is often a shortage of time, resources, and platforms for honest dialogue about how companies are actually coping with these shifts.

That is precisely why the GTIA Community Forum put practical perspectives front and center. Walter Hölblinger spoke about the implications of quantum cryptography for future security architectures. Nils Söder and Paula Glatter explored why successful AI adoption has less to do with tools than with communication, psychology, and clarity.

Other sessions underscored just how concrete these challenges have become. Henry Werner delivered a live demonstration of how straightforward physical attacks on companies can be today – whether through unsecured devices or open network ports. Further roundtables tackled NIS2 implementation, AI in day-to-day work, and the question of how organizations can bring employees along through periods of change.

Sharing Knowledge, Not Selling Products

What stood out above all was the atmosphere of the event itself. Many attendees singled out GTIA’s vendor-neutral approach as a key differentiator. Rather than sales pitches or marketing presentations, the focus was on open discussion and real-world experience from everyday business life.

That spirit was equally visible in conversations around the GTIA Cybersecurity Interest Group, which was only founded in the DACH region last year. The initiative’s goal is to bring members together regularly on current security topics – practice-oriented and community-driven.

In an industry that evolves technologically as fast as the IT channel, this kind of exchange is growing ever more valuable. Many of today’s challenges can barely be solved in isolation. Companies are looking for direction, reliable networks, and people who have already worked through similar questions.

Technology Is Changing the Channel; Community Is Holding It Together

This came through most clearly in the closing keynote by Michael Ćaćić-Escalera. His focus was deliberately not on technology, but on communication and leadership. Because the more AI and automation reshape everyday work, the more essential skills like self-reflection, clarity of expression, and the ability to work with different personality types become.

That, ultimately, was the central message of the GTIA DACH Community Forum: the future of the IT channel will not be decided by new technologies alone. What will matter is how companies share knowledge, shape change together, and learn from one another as a community.

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