The sluggish economy may be a boon for two-tier distribution, according to a new study published by the Global Technology Distribution Council.

The survey looked at expenses and a percentage of sales by channel at nine major IT vendors, including Cisco Systems, Lenovo, HP, Xerox and others.

The report found that two-tier distribution offers the lowest cost for business-to-business, or solution-based sales. This is in part because businesses require multivendor solutions. Plus, getting them from one source is easier for partners.