TD SYNNEX, one of the largest IT distributors, announced on Tuesday a significant expansion of its Destination AI program—an initiative aimed at operationalizing artificial intelligence across its technology ecosystem.
The company, formed in 2021 through the merger of Tech Data and SYNNEX Corp., plays a role in the global IT supply chain, connecting over 150,000 resellers, system integrators, and service providers with technologies from more than 2,500 vendors. Headquartered jointly in Clearwater, Florida, and Fremont, California, TD SYNNEX employs more than 23,000 people worldwide and had revenues exceeding $60 billion in fiscal 2024.
The latest evolution of TD SYNNEX’s AI program marks a clear shift in strategy—from enabling general awareness of AI technologies to facilitating structured, scalable implementation. According to the company, the original version of Destination AI focused on introducing AI concepts and building a foundational understanding of the market. The updated strategy, unveiled this week, places greater emphasis on identifying specific use cases, technical readiness, and aligning enterprise IT environments with real-world AI deployment.
“AI is no longer a fringe technology or a pilot initiative,” said Mark Martin, global vice president of data & AI and vendor transformation at TD SYNNEX. “It is becoming an expected component of enterprise infrastructure—on par with cloud or cybersecurity.”
TD SYNNEX is focusing its AI strategy on what it calls “AI-enabled” technologies, which include not just core AI solutions such as machine learning platforms and data analytics engines, but also infrastructure elements like edge computing, storage, and advanced networking that are increasingly required to support AI workloads.
The Tools: Solution Grid and AI Assessment
Central to expansion is a new methodology designed to reduce friction in the sales and implementation process. This includes two key tools:
- The Destination AI Solution Grid: A visual planning tool that helps map specific AI technologies to technical complexity and deployment maturity. This grid allows IT buyers to assess where various solutions—such as natural language processing, predictive analytics, or AI-optimized servers—fit within their existing capabilities.
- The Destination AI™ Partner Assessment Tool: A diagnostic platform that evaluates an organization’s AI readiness across dimensions such as technical skills, infrastructure maturity, and deployment scope. Based on this assessment, users receive recommendations tailored to their capabilities, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.
Both tools are aimed at providing clarity in a market where AI investment is growing but often hampered by uncertainty around use case selection, return on investment, and skills availability.
Internal Investment: Building AI Expertise
TD SYNNEX is also investing internally to scale its AI services. The company is expanding its Global Specialized Skills curriculum, a professional development program focused on upskilling employees in AI-related technologies and implementing best practices. Additionally, a new cadre of internal “Destination AI Champions” has been formed. These personnel serve as AI advisors, responsible for guiding customers through use case development, vendor selection, and implementation.
“While we’re enabling AI adoption externally, we also need to develop the expertise internally to ensure we can support increasingly complex deployments,” said Ed Morales, vice president of AI and digital transformation strategy for North America. “AI adoption is not just about buying tools. It’s about having the right technical and operational capabilities to deploy them at scale.”
Market Context: Timing the Curve
TD SYNNEX’s updated AI strategy comes as enterprise investment in artificial intelligence continues to grow, driven by use cases in automation, customer experience, supply chain optimization, and cybersecurity. Yet many organizations still lack a coherent approach to implementing these technologies. Industry analysts have noted a widening gap between AI interest and actual operational execution.
By embedding AI as a standard consideration within the broader IT portfolio—rather than treating it as a niche solution—TD SYNNEX aims to normalize adoption and reduce risk for buyers.
Unlike hyperscale cloud providers or niche AI vendors, TD SYNNEX operates as a connective layer in the technology stack. It does not build proprietary software but instead provides distribution, technical validation, sales enablement, and integration support across a wide ecosystem of products.
This position gives the company insight into cross-industry adoption patterns, but also responsibilities: ensuring that the technologies it distributes are implemented in a way that delivers business value, particularly for midmarket and regional customers that may not have large in-house engineering teams.
Rollout and Next Steps
The expanded program is being launched first in North America, where TD SYNNEX has a large footprint and deep vendor relationships.
TD SYNNEX has not disclosed the cost of the program expansion, but executives say the investment reflects a long-term bet on the centrality of AI in enterprise IT strategy. The company has also indicated that additional AI-aligned services and tools are in development, including enhanced support for edge AI, data governance frameworks, and sector-specific solution packages for industries like healthcare, retail, and manufacturing.
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