Amid AI surge, ‘trust is becoming the product’: GTIA exec

Solution and service providers who are “embedding trust into the solutions that they’re selling are getting ahead,” Nancy Hammervik told MSP executives Sunday

A matter of trust

For MSPs navigating the fast-changing IT environment spurred by surging AI adoption, keeping a focus on driving trust with clients is more than just essential - it’s even potentially the biggest opportunity for growth, according to GTIA’s Nancy Hammervik.

Trust is no longer just a “soft skill or a service you offer along with the outcome or the solution - trust is becoming the product,” said Hammervik, chief channel officer at IT channel trade association GTIA, during a session at XChange August 2026.

Solution and service providers who are “embedding trust into the solutions that they’re selling are getting ahead,” she told an audience of MSP executives Sunday during XChange August 2026, which is hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company and being held this week in Maryland.

At the same time, the need for maintaining trust with customers is table stakes for MSPs, according to Hammervik.

“If you lose a top client now because of trust, it’s very difficult to get that business back,” she said.

What follows are more takeaways from Hammervik’s session at XChange August 2026.

AI governance is lagging in the channel

“We do a lot of research at GTIA.

“We show that 97 per cent of the ecosystem is engaging and adopting AI, but only 25 per cent are using it strategically - where through agentic AI they’ve built a new platform to manage operations or manage processes.

“Only 20 per cent of them have any formal governance or policies in place.

“This is what it’s taking to get yourself along the continuum of AI to be operating a mature business model around AI.”

Hackers are targeting the channel

“The hackers are targeting the channel.

“We are all serving one to many, and the SMB. And the hackers are getting smarter. They’re not hacking in anymore.

“They’re logging in, using AI. It’s not a question of if you’ll be breached, but when, with one-third of ITSPs and solution providers sharing that they’ve had an incident and a breach.”

Declining vendor satisfaction

“We have been doing state of the channel research for 17 years now.

“Every year, partner satisfaction with vendors sits at about 39 [or] 40 per cent - very satisfied.

“This year, we had a significant drop to just 18 per cent - a 20-point drop. It’s not that the vendors are doing anything wrong.

“They’re trying to figure it out, like we all are too.

“Partners are expecting more from them.

“They’re trying to get the training, the AI solutions. They’re not buying features and specs anymore. They’re buying outcomes. They want to be spoken to with that language.

“We’re all figuring it out together.”

Ecosystem is realigning around AI

“The ecosystem is realigning. The players are changing.

“Many SMB end-user customers can now, through agentic AI, build their own infrastructure management tools.

“Accountants are starting to build, through agentic AI, tools for their clients that help them manage the inventory better.

“[It’s] happening outside of the service or the solution provider. They can’t do it without you having the keys to the infrastructure.

“You’re going to be partnering with new folk. The whole ecosystem is changing. And the power of community is more important than ever.”

The importance of trust

“We’re hearing a lot about trust.

“We need that to keep up with this industry now. But trust is no longer a soft value or a soft skill or a service you offer along with the outcome or the solution - trust is becoming the product.

“Those vendors and solution providers [and] service providers, working with their customers, that are embedding trust into the solutions that they’re selling are getting ahead.”

This article originally appeared on CRN UK sister website CRN.