The good news for solution providers is that they're often able to evolve and move more nimbly than their larger vendor partners, said Brenda Leonard, senior director, national managed partners, at Veritas Technologies. That has led to a rise in new breeds of partners, including managed service providers, she said.

"Our partners are a little bit ahead of the curve. ... They are much more nimble and we're able to learn from them quite often," Leonard said.

Hewlette said it's important for vendors to "embrace a much broader set of partners to deliver a broader set of solutions," just as companies internally need to diversify their employees to meet changing market needs.

"It's really about how together we can solve the problems that are in front of us. No one company can do it alone," Hewlette said. That is the "heart of getting it right for the future," she said.

Want to read more about diversity in the workplace? Here are three recent articles:

CNBC: Five practical tips for male leaders to promote equality

SILICON ANGLE MEDIA: Recognizing unconscious bias (blog post)

ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL: How to increase diversity in the workplace