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In this exclusive interview with PCR, Lenovo’s Natalie Noor discusses how UK partners are moving from transactional sales to outcome‑led solutions, with AI readiness, hybrid infrastructure, and expanding service capabilities creating the strongest growth opportunities in 2026 and beyond.
As AI adoption accelerates, what changes are you seeing in the types of conversations partners are having with customers?
Unsurprisingly, AI is one of the biggest topics of conversation our partners are having with customers. But increasingly the discussion isn’t simply, ‘What AI technology should I buy?’ Customers are instead asking, ‘What does AI actually mean for my organisation?’
Customers want to understand whether their data and technology environment is ready for AI, how it can improve productivity, and what infrastructure, devices, and services they need to support it. Our latest CIO research, for example, found the architecture underpinning AI is undergoing a profound shift, with 84% of CIOs preferring to leverage on-premises or edge deployments for AI workloads and applications as part of a hybrid deployment environment.
At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge that there’s still uncertainty, particularly among SMBs. Many businesses know they need to prepare for AI, but don’t necessarily know where to start. That creates a significant opportunity for channel partners to move the conversation from AI hype to practical use cases and measurable business outcomes that demonstrate its true value.
Where are partners currently strongest in supporting AI-driven transformation?
There’s a lot of enthusiasm for AI across the channel, and some partners are already very sophisticated in the way they approach these conversations. At Lenovo, we’re also seeing strong momentum around infrastructure as organisations start thinking seriously about the foundations they need to support AI.
The gap, however, is consistency. AI, hybrid cloud and advanced infrastructure require deeper technical expertise and a more solution-led approach. That’s why we’re investing in communities and enablement that bring technical sellers together and give them greater access to Lenovo’s expertise.
Globally, Lenovo 360 Tech Connect is creating a community for presales engineers, solution architects, and technical specialists, and we are reinforcing that community locally by building our own team of technical specialists to better support the channel. This community provides tailored enablement, learning resources and direct engagement with Lenovo experts. The objective is to help partners develop the confidence and technical credibility to design and deliver increasingly complex solutions in an AI era.
How is demand for services evolving as organisations transition from AI pilots to broader deployment?
Services are one of the areas I’m most excited about. We’ve seen as-a-service models take time to build momentum, but that is now changing significantly.
There are big opportunities for partners to increase deal value, develop more predictable recurring revenue and build deeper customer relationships. There’s also significant momentum around MSPs. Lenovo 360 for MSPs has expanded into UK&I, giving those partners tailored tools, training and incentives to integrate Lenovo solutions into their own managed service offerings.
The opportunity is ultimately about moving from selling technology to delivering outcomes. That’s good for customers and creates a more valuable, sustainable relationship for partners too.
Are customers beginning to rethink device lifecycle planning, refresh cycles or endpoint strategy?
We’re certainly seeing customers thinking about how they future-proof their technology for AI. AI makes the refresh conversation broader than simply replacing an ageing device. Partners have an opportunity to help customers consider what their workforce will need over the coming years, which AI capabilities they may want to adopt and how endpoints fit into a wider environment spanning infrastructure, software and services.
For many customers, that journey is still in its early stages, which is why the channel’s advisory role is so important.
Being a trusted adviser means starting with the customer’s problem rather than the technology. Many customers know AI is important, but they don’t necessarily understand where it can deliver value within their business.
Technical credibility will become increasingly important too. That’s one reason Lenovo is investing in technical communities and continuous learning. Partners need access to the skills and expertise that enable them not just to position a solution but also to design and deliver it confidently.
Ultimately, trusted-adviser status comes from combining technical expertise with an understanding of the customer’s business and maintaining that relationship over time.
What role do programmes like LEAP play in helping partners differentiate in a crowded market?
Almost every vendor is talking about AI, but partners stand out when they can turn that technology into something meaningful for customers.
LEAP helps engage and incentivise sellers around the right opportunities, while the wider Lenovo 360 framework provides partners with pathways to develop the skills and capabilities needed to support those more sophisticated conversations.
We’re increasingly recognising the importance of capability development alongside commercial growth. As partners build their skills and accreditations, they can progress through Lenovo 360 and unlock additional incentives, co-selling opportunities and Lenovo resources.
Then there’s the breadth of the Lenovo portfolio. We span AI-enabled and AI-ready devices, infrastructure, software, solutions and services. That allows partners to approach AI as an end-to-end customer challenge rather than as a single product category. Combining that portfolio with genuine technical and advisory expertise is where I think partners can really differentiate.
Our strategy continues to evolve around the three pillars of Lenovo 360: enable, connect and grow. LEAP has been an important part of how we engage and incentivise sellers around the right opportunities, but our broader ambitions are focused around making it simpler and more rewarding for partners to grow with Lenovo.
For example, we’ve streamlined our tiering and are aligning incentives more closely with both commercial performance and capability development, such as skills and accreditations. We’re also investing in the Lenovo 360 Partner Hub, giving partners greater visibility into their performance and progression.
The biggest behavioural shift we’re seeing is partners looking beyond the transactional sale. They increasingly want to build capabilities around services, AI, infrastructure, and recurring revenue. Our strategy aims to support this shift, from selling individual products towards delivering broader, outcome-led solutions across the Lenovo portfolio.
LEAP helps us engage and reward sellers around the opportunities where we see the greatest potential. Within the broader Lenovo 360 ecosystem, our focus is increasingly on helping partners shift from transactions to solutions and outcomes.
A good example is Lenovo 360 for Services. It gives partners a structured pathway by attaching ready-to-sell services to opportunities and then building towards more advanced solutions across areas including digital workplace, hybrid cloud, AI and Lenovo TruScale as-a-service offerings.
This is important because an AI conversation doesn’t necessarily have to start with a device. It should start with what the customer is trying to achieve, whether their organisation and data are ready, and what combination of devices, infrastructure and services can deliver that outcome. We want to give partners the skills, tools and incentives to have that broader conversation.
How is Lenovo helping partners align AI-driven innovation with long-term environmental commitments?
Sustainability increasingly needs to be part of the broader technology conversation, particularly as customers consider long-term infrastructure, devices, and services rather than individual purchases.
At Lenovo, we’re already looking at how AI can support everything from more efficient manufacturing and supply chains to better-informed product design and lifecycle decisions.
From a channel perspective, the trusted-adviser role means helping customers consider the wider implications of their technology choices and how those decisions support their long-term business priorities. As AI adoption scales, that conversation will only become more important.
We also have practical solutions that partners can bring to that conversation, whether that’s helping customers manage end-of-life technology through Asset Recovery Services or exploring technologies such as Neptune liquid cooling to improve the efficiency of AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.
Looking ahead to 2026/27, what does Lenovo expect to be the biggest opportunity for channel partners?
For me, one of the biggest opportunities for partners is the convergence of AI, infrastructure and services.
We’re seeing a real surge in infrastructure demand, and Lenovo is really gaining momentum with partners. At the same time, services and as-a-service models are creating new ways for partners to build recurring revenue and deepen their customer relationships.
AI brings all of that together. Customers need help understanding what AI means for their business, what they should do with their data, which devices and infrastructure they need, and how to move from experimentation to practical deployment.
The partners that can join those pieces together and become genuine trusted advisers will be extremely well positioned.
