‘Tech sovereignty will become more and more relevant’: ALSO CEO reflects on the future of the channel

Wolfgang Krainz discusses cloud maturity, AI platforms, reseller transformation, supply chain pressure and the growing importance of tech sovereignty

AI platforms, cloud ecosystems and geopolitical considerations are rapidly reshaping the role distributors play across the European channel, a trend that is being felt by distributors, resellers and vendors across the continent,

It is the same for Swiss distie ALSO.

Speaking to CRN, CEO Wolfgang Krainz explains that macroeconomic conditions and tech sovereignty are becoming increasingly prominent topics throughout the European channel.

“There’s definitely increased discussion around it and yes, we are having those conversations with our customers,” Krainz says.

“I think over time it will become more and more relevant in purchasing decisions.”

The CEO believes ALSO’s positioning as a European-HQ organisation is becoming strategically important as customers increasingly assess supplier ecosystems through a geopolitical lens.

“Please keep in mind ALSO is the largest European-based distributor or technology provider,” he says.

“We have European roots, we’re listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange, headquartered in Switzerland and we lean very much into European vendors.”

According to Krainz, reseller procurement decisions are gradually evolving beyond purely pricing and availability considerations.

“Resellers are also starting to optimise purchase decisions around more forward-looking geographic preferences,” he says.

The organisation continues positioning itself around what it describes as a “balanced geopolitical portfolio” spanning vendors across multiple regions and ecosystems.

“I think we are well positioned with a super balanced and broad ecosystem of vendors across the globe.”

Cloud becomes a key profitability driver

Krainz adds that the organisation is increasingly positioning itself around platforms, recurring services and ecosystem enablement as customer requirements evolve beyond traditional transactional distribution.

The CEO explains that the channel is moving through a period where operational complexity, changing reseller models and emerging technologies are converging simultaneously

ALSO’s strategy now centres around three core pillars: supply, solutions and services, with platform-led activities continuing to outpace traditional distribution growth.

“Cloud has been one of our profitability drivers,” Krainz says

The exec explains that the organisation made an early strategic decision more than a decade ago to prioritise platforms and as-a-service capabilities.

“Very early, I decided to go for platforms and go for as-a-service business,” he says

That strategy began with the acquisition of cloud platform Finland-based Nervogrid in 2014, which became the foundation for ALSO’s broader cloud ecosystem.

“We positioned this as one of the leading cloud platforms in the early days of cloud business.”

Cloud now represents one of ALSO’s fastest-growing business areas and increasingly underpins the distributor’s wider profitability strategy.

The company’s Cloud Marketplace generated €1.6bn (£1.4bn) in revenue for FY25, more than ten per cent of ALSO’s overall €15bn turnover.

“We’re growing cloud business faster than the supply and solutions pillars,” Krainz says.

The distributor measures platform performance primarily through two metrics: the number of unique users obtaining software through the marketplace and the value generated per customer.

“The multiplication of unique users and unique user monetisation is exactly the net sales we achieve with our Cloud Marketplace,” Krainz explains.

The marketplace itself increasingly acts as an ecosystem rather than a standalone software procurement platform.

According to Krainz, many customers initially enter through Microsoft 365 before expanding into broader recurring portfolios spanning cybersecurity, backup, ERP and infrastructure services.

“We’re building up a large SaaS ecosystem around our Cloud Marketplace,” he says.

The distributor also sees opportunities around differing levels of cloud maturity across Europe.

“There are major cloud countries with high adoption rates, like the Scandinavian countries, and there are countries with big potential to adapt to higher cloud adoption rates and as-a-service business models.

“This is exactly one of the growth opportunities for ALSO Group for the years coming.”

ALSO’s AI platform ambitions accelerate

In addition to cloud, AI is emerging as one of ALSO’s next major strategic priorities.

Krainz says the distributor is actively ramping up its AI platform ambitions as demand for AI-enabled infrastructure, services and enablement continues accelerating across the channel.

“We are ramping up our AI platform and it’s going to become one of our four significant platform offerings,” he tells CRN.

The exec believes distributors are increasingly becoming orchestrators of broader tech ecosystems rather than purely logistics-focused organisations.

That evolution is being driven partly by the growing amount of operational and commercial data flowing through distribution environments.

“There’s an incredible amount of data flowing through distribution.

“The opportunity now is to harness that data using AI to identify opportunities, generate leads and bring business to both vendors and customers.”

The distributor also sees AI as fundamentally reshaping reseller enablement requirements.

ALSO currently works with more than 140,000 reseller partners globally across retail, SMB, VAR and system integrator ecosystems.

According to Krainz, helping those partners adapt to AI-led transformation is becoming increasingly important.

“We support those resellers on the AI journey and make sure they are dressed for the challenges they face in their businesses,” he says.

The company believes its proximity to SMB-focused resellers across Europe represents a major differentiator as those firms increasingly transition towards services and recurring business models.

“It’s the proximity to tens of thousands of pan-European SMB resellers across the European landscape.

“This shows a very large reseller reach and the trust ALSO holds with resellers across countries.”

Since the interview, the distie has launched a new AI partner programme to boost the adoption of agentic AI across Europe.

Vendor onboarding activity meanwhile continues to accelerate around emerging technologies.

“Our vendor ecosystem is around 800-plus vendors,” Krainz says.

“We constantly look at market opportunities, growth areas and trending technologies.

“The goal is to make sure we always offer resellers the latest technology developments.”

Supply chain pressures continue

The current operational challenges around supply chains and memory shortages continue to shape distributor planning, ALSO’s CEO tells CRN.

“This has probably been the most discussed question over the last six to nine months.

“There’s been a lot of noise around it.”

According to the Krainz, ALSO began preparing for potential shortages as early as September and October last year.

The distributor intensified collaboration with both vendors and major reseller customers in order to manage inventory positioning and demand forecasting.

“We intensified contact and collaboration with both vendors and key resellers,” Krainz says.

The organisation focused heavily on balancing inventory optimisation with reseller demand planning throughout the period.

“It was an intensive time of talking back and forth, but we mitigated it quite positively, as the Q1 numbers prove.”