Industry voice: Westcoast Cloud to support channel in ‘dramatic expansion’ of Microsoft AI and cybersecurity business

2025 is shaping up to be a big year for the UK channel, with major vendors such as Microsoft and leading distributors like Westcoast Cloud predicting increased business levels, particularly in terms of AI and security.

Their confidence stems from the fact that AI solutions are increasingly robust and mainstream, prompting many businesses to invest, knowing that competitors are doing the same. Yet the adoption of AI raises security and privacy issues that also need to be dealt with, resulting in a likely surge of investment in these two inter-related areas.

Recent research from TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group, for example, found that spending intentions in cyber security outpaces all other categories of initiative, with a “dramatic expansion of AI” and analytics also climbing in importance.

The World Economic Forum reports similar expectations: “The rapid adoption of emerging technologies is contributing to new vulnerabilities as cybercriminals harness them effectively to achieve greater sophistication and scale.”

This also comes at a time when the UK Government describes AI as the “defining opportunity of our generation”, committing itself to a number of investment initiatives to make the UK “an AI superpower”. Microsoft for its part has also recently committed to a £2.5bn investment in AI infrastructure and skills training.

Everything points to AI and cybersecurity being a key revenue driver for the channel, provided they have the skills to service the need. Another recent positive development for the channel, is the new Thrive programme from Westcoast Cloud that offers to help upskill partners so they can keep up to speed with the latest AI and cybersecurity challenges.

The Thrive programme enables the channel to achieve two important goals: learning and selling. Learning encompasses bespoke plans, hands-on security demo days, and technical training, while selling means supporting partners through funding, product enablement and re-brandable marketing.

As Mark Davies, Managing Director of Westcoast Cloud, explained: “There is a wave of AI adoption coming in this year and we’re helping our partners to prepare for it. The Thrive programme is there to make them future-ready and bring all the advantages of Microsoft’s AI technology to their customers.”

Paul Cawley, Senior Partner Development at Microsoft, pointed out that the Thrive programme was proof of their commitment to work with Westcoast Cloud in supporting the channel: “Thrive will empower partners with the tools and knowledge they need to excel in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and cybersecurity, thus driving innovation, enhancing security and achieving new levels of success. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this programme will have on our partner community and the broader industry.”

Partners wishing to sign up should contact Westcoast Cloud here.

This article is sponsored by Westcoast Cloud.