There is no doubt that the Cloud and Cloud services represent a paradigm shift for technology providers, business customers, and consumers during the next few years. To quote Peter Sondergaard, Gartner Sr. VP:
“Cloud computing will transform the IT industry as it will alter the financial model upon which investors look at technology providers, and it will change vertical industries, making the impact of the Internet on the music industry look like a minor bleep,”
The key factors that will determine the success of selling Cloud services through the channel have little to do with technology and everything to do with the Cloud business model in terms of how it affects both vendors’ and partners’ finances—revenue, cash flow, balance sheet—and the customer relationship.
These factors are: Read more…
For many technology vendors (B2B or B2C), the channel is their primary vehicle for increasing revenue and expanding market share. As the equation goes, partner success = vendor success.
Unfortunately, vendors often lose sight of the day-to-day operations of their partners – a disconnect that can limit opportunities. In order to cultivate a successful business relationship, clear communication between vendors and partners is key. As you craft your channel programs, tools, and go-to-market strategy, here are a few tips to help you keep the partner in mind. Read more…
These two, seemingly unrelated statistics gave me pause as I prepared for a webinar last week. First, by some industry estimates, 50% or more of all potential MDF/Co-op funds go unused.
Second, Everything Channel research reported that after reaching a high of 250,000 in 2007, the number of solution provider businesses in the North American market dropped to 200,000 in 2009. Most of the solution providers that closed up shop generated less than $1 million in annual revenue.
In this difficult time of shrinking budgets and companies going out of business, one would think that struggling SMB’s would jump at the opportunity to get free money to do marketing.
So what are the top reasons partners give as to why MDF funds go unused? Read more…
Are you sure you know what motivates your resellers?
Every company selling through an indirect channel wants to achieve greater partner mind share. What makes the resellers want to sell more AND achieve the ROI that you need for your programs? Incentives! When used appropriately they: Read more…
As temperatures cool down and the leaves begin to change, it’s apparent that summer is coming to an end. Hopefully we’ve all had an opportunity to reflect about the year thus far, and contemplate channel priorities for the second half of 2010. Getting away from the daily minutia and asking yourself some basic questions may help you focus and re-prioritize for the rest of the year.
So grab your laptop and compose some basic questions for your channel teams: Read more…
