As we kick off 2025, Climb is diving into how compliance is opening up new opportunities for channel partners to lead and innovate.
We’re exploring the solutions available today and focusing on how we can empower you—our partners—with the tools and strategies needed to tackle regulatory challenges, navigate the complexities of AI, and help your customers confidently meet evolving security standards.
To the start the year as we mean to go on, we’ve gathered insights from the Climb team. Here, they share their guidance, tips, and key areas of focus to help you understand compliance and the regulatory landscape in 2025.
The Agility Advantage of Smaller Partners
Smaller channel partners are under pressure from increasingly complex customer environments, resource constraints, and heightened competition for skilled talent. However, their agility can be an advantage. Martin Bichler, Regional Country Manager DACH, explains the value of flexibility:
“Smaller partners can act quickly, adapt to customer needs, and serve as trusted advisors, which is hugely valuable to customers. Their ability to scout innovative vendors—especially those offering AI-powered solutions—positions them well to meet compliance and security challenges.”
Ronnie Hamilton, Pre-Sales Director, emphasises the importance of embracing AI to improve operational efficiency: “By embracing AI, smaller partners can deliver exceptional managed services with fewer resources, keeping costs low and service quality high. This approach ensures they remain competitive in a crowded market.”
Navigating the EU NIS2 Directive
The EU NIS2 Directive underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures, pushing partners and their customers to adopt a more comprehensive approach to risk management.
Naz Naeem, Account Director, stresses the need for prioritising measures such as multi-factor authentication, regular cybersecurity testing, incident response protocols, and strong supply-chain security.
Martin adds: “The principles of Identify, Detect, Protect, Respond, and Recover are fundamental to this directive, but recovery is often overlooked. A three-month recovery time after a breach can be as harmful as a failure to detect it in the first place. Automation in threat detection and response is essential for meeting these requirements.”
The EU AI Act: Balancing Compliance and Innovation
The EU AI Act introduces new compliance challenges for partners working with AI solutions. The regulation’s emphasis on transparency, accountability, and risk management affects the entire lifecycle of AI system implementation.
Martin suggests that partners offering managed services should consider adding roles such as “AI Manager as a Service.” Martin explains that “these specialists don’t need to be in-house for customers, but having certified AI managers is a differentiator and mitigates compliance risks.”
Naz notes that while adhering to the EU AI Act’s requirements might involve additional costs, the benefits extend beyond compliance:
“Clear documentation and ethical AI practices build customer trust, which is invaluable. Partners should see compliance not as a burden but to deepen relationships and differentiate themselves in the market.”
Automation and AI
AI and automation are increasingly recognised as invaluable tools for managing compliance complexity. Whether it’s automating repetitive processes, monitoring security events, or ensuring adherence to standards, these technologies can streamline efforts and reduce human error.
Ronnie advises partners to experiment with practical AI applications: “Start small by automating repetitive tasks. For example, creating a custom GPT model for daily operations can save time and improve productivity.”
Martin adds: “In 2025 and beyond, any security solution requiring manual intervention will struggle to meet customer demands. Automated and AI-powered security solutions are necessary to counter sophisticated threats like AI-driven hacks.”
Taking a Proactive Stance on Emerging Regulations
Beyond the EU NIS2 Directive and EU AI Act, new and updated regulations such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act and PCI DSS v4 are set to impact global operations. Andrew Snell, Alliance Manager, discusses the importance of staying ahead:
“Partners need to develop sustainable compliance programs that adapt to emerging regulations. This includes assigning ownership, monitoring third-party providers, and evolving policies to address regulatory changes.”
For PCI DSS compliance, Andrew outlines best practices: “Develop clear policies, establish performance metrics, and maintain security awareness through continuous monitoring and regular testing. In fact, this is a good starting framework for other regulations, too.”
Channel Partner Opportunities
As our Climb experts have highlighted, today’s compliance and cybersecurity challenges can be seen as opportunities for growth and market differentiation:
Ronnie advises forming internal AI evaluation teams: “Explore AI capabilities within your own business to increase productivity and provide examples of these solutions in action. This both builds expertise internally and aligns your operations with evolving customer expectations.”
Martin highlights the need for continuous innovation: “Partners often rely on legacy systems to meet compliance challenges, but they need to regularly evaluate new vendors and solutions. Staying ahead of the curve is critical, especially as AI begins to transform the channel.”
Climb’s Compliance Takeaways for 2025
- Partner Agility: Smaller partners should embrace their flexibility to scout and adopt innovative and AI-driven solutions.
- Strengthen Cybersecurity: Focus on automation and fast recovery as essential components of regulatory compliance.
- Adapt to AI Regulations: Position compliance with the EU AI Act as a trust-building opportunity.
- Leverage Automation: Use AI to streamline processes and reduce human error in compliance efforts.
- Prepare for Emerging Regulations: Build adaptable compliance frameworks to tackle new regulations.
- Invest in Expertise: Create internal teams to evaluate AI trends and compliance strategies.
- Communicate Value: Turn compliance frameworks into a market differentiator through transparency and strategic advisory services.
At Climb, we’re here to help you navigate compliance with confidence. Whether you’re looking for guidance or tailored solutions, talk to us.
For channel partners, this is your moment to stand out, build trust, and support your customers in achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance.
Our final piece of advice comes from Andrew:
“My message to channel partners is simple—don’t panic about compliance. Let Climb be your guide. With the right preparation and a solid understanding of regulatory best practices, compliance can become your competitive advantage.”
If you’re looking for more information about how our Climb team can best support your company’s compliance needs, whether it’s to do with upcoming EU regulations or even questions around AI, be sure to get in touch with us directly here.
