XChange LATAM 2026: AI Is Now The Primary Business Enabler

At XChange LATAM Cono Sur 2026, RESTART and C3I S.A. analyzed the current state of business between channels and vendors, focusing on trust building, the evolution of relationships with vendors, and the challenges posed by the adoption of artificial intelligence in companies.

Mendoza, Argentina once again served as a meeting point for the regional technology ecosystem during XChange LATAM Cono Sur 2026, an event organized by The Channel Company in partnership with ITSitio Group.

Held April 22–24 at the Hilton Hotel, the event brought together more than 50 selected technology partners. By the second day, the agenda made one thing clear: The conversation has shifted from technology as a promise to its concrete implementation within the IT channel business.

Against that backdrop, the perspective of integrators remains critical to understanding how relationships with vendors are evolving—driven by three core pillars: trust, proximity to the end customer and mounting pressure to translate artificial intelligence into measurable results.

For Juan Pablo Iriarte, president of C3I S.A., the event has become a strategic space for the ecosystem.

“This is the second time we’ve been invited, which makes us happy and proud,” Iriarte said. “Above all, it’s the contact with vendors and the networking among friends—because after so many years, they’re no longer just colleagues—that keeps us coming back.”

Beyond networking, Iriarte also highlighted the evolution of the event’s format and the quality of discussions with vendors.

“Compared with last year, the boardrooms improved their dynamics,” he said. “We went straight to the point. Issues we used to face are no longer there, which made the conversations much more enriching.”

Vendors and partners push for greater commitment and transparency

The partner-vendor relationship is increasingly defined by a clear demand: greater commitment and transparency. As business becomes more consultative, Iriarte emphasized the need for more direct and honest engagement.

“We demand commitment to the channel,” he said. “If opportunities are identified together, we need to be told. As Hernán Mazzeo said yesterday, we have to extract value by breaking through walls, reinventing ourselves and moving forward again—because there’s no other option, at least for us. What we always ask from vendors is loyalty. I’m loyal to you; be loyal to us.”

AI: Between promise and an adoption gap

Artificial intelligence is emerging as the primary business enabler—and also as a source of friction when it comes to adoption. Iriarte pointed to a gap between technical teams and business units inside organizations.

“If we talk to the purchasing department, they’ll say, ‘No, I ask ChatGPT how to make mayonnaise and it gives me a recipe,’” he said. “So sometimes it’s difficult—maybe due to our own lack of experience—to clearly see where we fit and say, ‘You need AI here.’”

That disconnect between technological potential and real business needs creates opportunity, but also challenges for consultative selling in the channel—particularly in nontraditional areas like sales, where AI’s value is not yet fully understood.

The partner as a facilitator of change

From his perspective at RESTART, Julián Ercolessi underscored the partner’s role as a transformation enabler, not just a technology provider.

“The first thing we ask is to build a relationship of trust,” Ercolessi said. “And to create those same trust-based spaces with customers—staying very close to clients who are committed to applying AI to their processes and progressing over time.”

Ercolessi said the biggest mistake organizations make is treating AI as an isolated tool or a massive, disconnected initiative.

“The mistake is assuming AI will automatically accompany business processes,” he said. “You first have to understand which processes should be addressed and where AI actually makes a difference. That’s where you start.”

He also warned against large-scale projects that fail to deliver value quickly.

“In my view, one of the biggest challenges today is not iterating in shorter cycles with more focused processes,” Ercolessi said.

A clear, if ambiguous, market demand

Despite lingering uncertainty, market demand is unmistakable.

“There’s a phrase one of our company’s owners always uses: ‘I don’t know what I want, but I want it with AI,’” Ercolessi said.

In that environment, the channel’s role becomes increasingly critical: translating vague expectations into practical solutions, while balancing speed, efficiency and risk management.

Both perspectives converged on a single conclusion: The future of the IT business is not defined solely by adopting new technologies, but by the ecosystem’s ability to build trust, accelerate experimentation and avoid unnecessary complexity. At XChange LATAM Cono Sur 2026, that conversation moved beyond theory and became a concrete business agenda between channel partners and vendors.

Desirée Jaimovich is Editorial Director of ITSitio.