Dicker Data: Bridging global innovation and local execution

Q&A with Ben Johnson, General Manager - Marketing & Strategy, Australia and New Zealand, Dicker Data

1. How would you describe your role in today’s partner ecosystem, and how has that changed in recent years?

Our role in today’s partner ecosystem is to simplify an increasingly complex landscape. As partners navigate intricate vendor environments and compliance frameworks, they need a distributor who reduces complexity rather than adds to it. That is where we come in. We have taken on a greater role in education and enablement, particularly in emerging technologies such as AI and data resiliency, providing end-to-end guidance and support to help partners deliver innovative solutions and continually upskill their businesses.

We actively scout and introduce the world’s best new technologies and vendors to the ANZ market, ensuring they align with local needs and partner capabilities. As scaled ecosystem distributors, we connect partners not only with top-tier vendors but also with leading service providers and technical expertise, enabling them to deliver complete, competitive offerings. By acting as a bridge between global innovation and local execution, we help partners anticipate market shifts and respond effectively through insights on customer trends, competitive dynamics, and emerging technologies.

Our focus is on accelerating time-to-market for new solutions by aligning vendor innovation with partner capabilities and customer demand. We provide scalable platforms, tools, and services that reduce operational friction, freeing partners to focus on growth and customer success. Ultimately, our role has evolved from transactional distribution to strategic partnership built on trust, transparency, and shared success.

2. What are the top three things you believe partners value most in a distribution relationship?

Operational Excellence, Simplicity and Trust

Partners value distributors who make business easy through reliable execution, streamlined processes, and consistent service. Trust is earned through transparency, responsiveness, and a commitment to long-term partnership.

Full Lifecycle Support

From onboarding and go-to-market to technical support, training, certification, and sales acceleration, partners want support at every stage. Distributors who invest in partner success across each touchpoint help build capability and confidence.

Access to the Right Technology and Vendors

Partners want seamless access to leading technologies through integrated platforms and marketplaces. They value proactive recommendations and simplified procurement that help them stay ahead of customer needs.

3. Beyond logistics, what services or support do you see as most critical for partners’ growth?

Beyond logistics, the most critical services for partners’ growth revolve around data-driven insights, practice development, and expert support. We help partners better leverage their own data, whether it’s customer insights, usage analytics, or sales performance, to make smarter decisions and unlock new opportunities. Our platforms and tools provide visibility into consumption trends, renewal cycles, and cross-sell potential, enabling partners to proactively engage with their customers and win more business.

Helping partners build and evolve their practices is central to our role, whether launching new service lines, scaling into emerging areas like AI and cybersecurity, or transforming legacy offerings. We provide tailored enablement pathways, strategic guidance, and workshops aligned with each partner’s growth ambitions and preferred vendor line-ups.

We connect partners with trusted experts in areas such as implementation, migration, managed services, and advanced solution design. These experts augment partner capabilities, enabling them to deliver more share of wallet within their customers and create more competitive offerings. Our business managers and solution architects provide quoting-to-design support, best practice solution design, and pre-sales assistance. Tailored training and enablement programs further build both technical and sales competency, improving partner standing in vendor programs and often unlocking additional incentives.

4. Which emerging technologies or trends do you see as particularly important for distributors to support over the next two years?

Over the next two years, supporting partners in adopting emerging technologies will be critical, with AI at the forefront. We are focused on providing clear frameworks around AI and helping partners identify where and how to start embedding AI into their go-to-market strategies. This guidance ensures partners can confidently integrate AI into their offerings and deliver meaningful value to their customers.

In line with our objective of making the world’s best technologies and vendors available to our partners, we are also prioritising sustainable technology alternatives. This enables partners to position sustainability as a competitive differentiator and place it at the centre of the solutions we build together.

5. What advice would you give a partner trying to evaluate which distributor is the right fit?

When evaluating which distributor is the right fit, start with a clear view of where you want your business to be in the next five years. From there, assess the value-add services, technologies, and capabilities you need from your distributor and the broader technology ecosystem to achieve those goals. Your distributor should be a true partner in your success, not just a supplier. They should be accessible and knowledgeable, giving you confidence that when you need support, you can reach someone who not only responds quickly but also has the right skill sets for the technologies and solutions you are designing. Finally, choose a distributor with the scale and support mechanisms to meet the evolving needs of your business. If your distributor has demonstrated consistent high growth, it is a strong indicator that they have the scale and capabilities to help your business do the same.