Monday Morning Impact – May 12
Gartner: Many Supply Chain Leaders Plan to Pass Tariff Costs to Customers
According to a survey by Gartner, 45% of supply chain leaders anticipate passing costs to their customers as their primary strategy for mitigating new tariff costs. Forty-three percent of respondents stated they would mitigate the costs through various supply chain initiatives as their primary strategy.
“Supply chain leaders have many potential levers to pull from in mitigating new costs related to tariffs,” said Vicky Forman, Senior Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “While supply chain leaders have multiple initiatives underway to potentially lessen the impacts, many of these actions have yet to be completed.”
While “increased costs” was the top risk associated with new tariffs, cited by 92% of respondents, 75% also flagged concerns about slowing customer demand among the top three risks to their business. These risks included an overall decrease in consumer demand (cited by 49%), as well as concerns about retaliatory measures impacting international customer demand (cited by 45%).
As a result of these concerns, Forman emphasized the importance of numerous supply chain initiatives underway that could help organizations mitigate new tariff costs beyond passing costs to customers, especially over the longer term. The supply chain initiatives to mitigate tariff impacts planned (or already underway) most cited by respondents included renegotiating supplier contracts (47%); exploring collaboration opportunities with suppliers (43%); addressing country of origin, valuation and other trade management tactics (40%); adjusting supply locations outside the United States (39%); adjusting production locations outside of the United States (26%); and pulling inventory forward (23%).
Gartner surveyed 126 supply chain leaders from March 17, 2025, through April 7, 2025, on their planned responses to new tariff policies and specific mitigation actions. Qualifying organizations reported enterprise-wide annual revenue of at least $50 million, with 83% of respondents coming from organizations with $1 billion or more in revenue.
Gartner clients can read more in “How Supply Chains Are Responding to New U.S. Tariffs and Policies.”
Channel Impact®
Channel partners can use this data as a source of potential options in developing their own responses to tariffs.
Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report: System Intrusions Behind 80% of APAC Breaches
Verizon Business has released its 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), sounding the alarm on a surge of system intrusions across the Asia-Pacific region. The report reveals that four out of five data breaches in the region stemmed from such attacks – up from 38% the previous year.
Now in its 18th year, the report analyzed more than 22,000 security incidents, including 12,195 confirmed data breaches spanning 139 countries. Malware increased from 58% last year in APAC to 83% this year, with Ransomware accounting for 51% of breaches.
“This year’s report reinforces the growing complexity and persistence of cyber threats facing organizations worldwide. In the Asia-Pacific region in particular, external actors are targeting critical infrastructure and exploiting third-party vulnerabilities. The rising incidence of breaches highlights the imperative for businesses to reassess their risk frameworks,” said Robert Le Busque, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific for Verizon Business.
Among the findings, the number of social engineering breaches has been on the decline since 2021, and only accounts for 20% of breaches in 2025 due, in part, to the sharp increase of system intrusion. Malware in data breaches jumped significantly, from 58% last year to 83% this year with email being the key vector for distributing various types of malware.
Ransomware now accounts for 51% of the total breaches in this region and remains highly visible as threat actors often publicize breaches. Ransomware attacks rose by 37% since last year, and are now present in 44% of breaches, despite a noticeable decrease in the median ransom amount paid.
The percentage of breaches involving third parties doubled, highlighting the risks associated with supply chain and partner ecosystems. Human involvement in breaches remains high, with a significant overlap between social engineering and credential abuse.
The 2025 DBIR also shed light on industry-specific trends, revealing an alarming rise in espionage-motivated attacks in the Manufacturing and Healthcare sectors, and persistent threats to the Education, Financial, and Retail industries. The report also highlighted the disproportionate impact of ransomware on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Channel Impact®
Verizon Business’s 2025 DBIR serves as a wake-up call for partners to help customers take action to strengthen their cybersecurity posture and mitigate the risks posed by evolving cyber threats. With the median ransom payment to cybercriminals last year being US$115,000, this is a significant amount for many SMBs. By adopting a proactive and comprehensive approach to cybersecurity, businesses can help safeguard their assets, protect their customers, and ensure their long-term success in an increasingly digital world.
Avaya Announces New Contact Center Platform
Avaya has rolled out its new Avaya “Infinity” platform, designed to upgrade the functionality and efficiency of corporate contact centers by unifying the various strings of customer experiences into a more strategic resource. The platform injects AI and intelligent orchestration into existing enterprise environments, connecting channels, insights, technologies and workflows.
“Strong bonds are earned over time, interaction by interaction,” said Patrick Dennis, CEO of Avaya. “But the reality for the world’s largest businesses and public sector organizations is that too often investments in new technologies, channels and modalities meant to strengthen customer interactions actually splinter them. Avaya Infinity reverses this tide, collapsing silos and creating connections that transform the contact center from a vehicle for surface-level contact to the place where enterprise relationships deepen and expand.”
The platform promises to bring together voice and digital channels, combines fragmented data, and unifies AI, applications and disparate systems into a single ecosystem that delivers a more personalized customer experience.
Channel Impact®
The net objective is to help partners and their customers to transform fragmented experiences into authentic connections that nurture relationships and build loyalty.
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