Comarch Loyalty CEO Max Byloff takes the stage at the International Leaders in Loyalty Summit in Cape Town on 9 September 2026, arguing that data and AI are necessary but insufficient ingredients for genuine customer loyalty [1][1]. His 'Data Is the Grape. Loyalty Is the Wine.' framing arrives as channel partners report AI consulting as their top growth driver, with 86.7% of AI-consulting sellers expecting it to fuel 2026 revenue [2]. With the Channel Ecosystems market forecast to reach $25.7B in 2026 at a 36% CAGR from 2022 to 2029, Comarch's human-centered AI narrative offers a differentiated position that pure-play AI vendors rarely articulate [3].
What is Covered in this Article
- Comarch's human-craft AI philosophy at the International Leaders in Loyalty Summit [1][1]
- Channel partner demand for AI consulting as the top 2026 growth driver [2]
- Channel Ecosystems market trajectory: $25.7B in 2026 at 36% CAGR [3]
- Comarch's South African Loyalty Awards nomination and regional market positioning [1]
The News: Max Byloff, CEO of Comarch Loyalty, will present at the International Leaders in Loyalty Summit in Cape Town on 9 September 2026 at 10:55 am [1]. His session, titled 'Data Is the Grape. Loyalty Is the Wine. Why Technology Still Needs Human Craft,' argues that while data provides the foundation and AI creates new possibilities, human understanding is what turns loyalty into art [1]. Byloff stated that Comarch is 'thinking about innovation around AI, while keeping the loyalty approach directly focused on people' [1]. The two-day summit brings together industry leaders to discuss trends, best practices, and how to simplify the complexities of loyalty [1]. Comarch is also nominated for the South African Loyalty Awards, hosted alongside the summit, which honors outstanding loyalty performance [1].
Can Human Craft Differentiate AI Loyalty in a $25.7B Market?
Analyst Take: Byloff's winemaking metaphor is more than a keynote hook. It encapsulates a strategic bet: that enterprise buyers, overwhelmed by commodity AI deployments, will pay a premium for loyalty platforms that pair algorithmic precision with human-experience design [1][1]. The timing is deliberate, arriving as channel partners signal that depth of AI expertise, not just AI access, is the emerging competitive moat [2][2].
AI Consulting Demand Creates a Receptive Channel Audience
Futurum's 2H 2026 Decision Maker Survey data makes the market context unambiguous. Among channel partners who sell AI consulting, 86.7% (n=225) expect it to drive growth in 2026 [2]. Among those selling AI software including copilots, 78.3% (n=258) say the same [2]. These figures reflect a channel ecosystem that has moved past AI curiosity into AI dependency. Yet the same survey reveals that 66.8% (n=352) of channel partners have developed their own AI solutions using LLMs [2], signaling that buyers increasingly expect vendors to offer differentiated, not commodity, AI capabilities. Comarch's human-craft positioning speaks directly to this tension: partners need a narrative that justifies premium pricing, and 'AI plus human expertise' is a more defensible story than raw model performance alone.
A $25.7B Market Rewards Differentiated Narratives
The Channel Ecosystems market is forecast to reach $25.7B under the base scenario in 2026, compounding at a 36% CAGR from 2022 to 2029 [3]. At that scale and velocity, mindshare capture at globally recognized industry events carries real commercial weight. Comarch's dual move, a keynote at the International Leaders in Loyalty Summit and a nomination for the South African Loyalty Awards [1], targets enterprise buyers in a geography where loyalty program sophistication is accelerating. Pure-play AI vendors can demonstrate model benchmarks; Comarch is positioning to demonstrate outcomes. Byloff's framing that 'data provides the foundation, AI creates new possibilities, but human understanding is what turns loyalty into art' [1] is precisely the kind of value proposition that resonates with procurement teams evaluating long-term platform partners rather than point solutions.
Thought Leadership as a Channel Activation Strategy
Speaking at a summit that 'brings together some of the best minds and visionary thinkers to discuss trends and radically simplify the complexities of loyalty' [1] is not incidental to Comarch's go-to-market strategy. It is the strategy. In a market where 66.8% of channel partners are building proprietary AI solutions [2], vendor credibility is established through demonstrated expertise, not product sheets. Byloff's presence alongside top loyalty innovators [1] positions Comarch as a co-creator of industry thinking, which shortens partner and buyer sales cycles. The South African Loyalty Awards nomination adds a third-party validation layer that amplifies the keynote's reach beyond the summit audience [1].
What to Watch
- Awards outcome: whether Comarch's South African Loyalty Awards nomination converts to a win and how the company amplifies that signal in Q4 2026 channel outreach [1]
- Partner pipeline signals: whether the Cape Town keynote generates measurable increases in partner inquiries or RFP activity in the weeks following 9 September [1]
- Competitor positioning: how rival loyalty platform vendors respond to the human-craft narrative, particularly those leading with pure AI differentiation, over Q4 2026
- Channel AI consulting growth: whether the 86.7% of AI-consulting sellers expecting growth in 2026 translate that demand into loyalty-specific platform deals in Q4 2026 and Q1 2027 [2]
Sources
1. Data Is the Grape. Loyalty Is the Wine., Comarch, September 2026
2. 2H 2026 Ecosystems, Channels & Marketplaces Global Enterprise Decision Maker Survey Report, Futurum Research, August 2026
3. 2H 2025 Hyperscaler Marketplace Market Sizing & Five-Year Forecast, Futurum Research, December 2025
Disclosure: Futurum is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
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