Analyst outfit Canalys has warned that vendor partner programmes are losing relevance to the channel.
Canalys found that 77 percent of channel companies rate partner programmes as important when evaluating vendor relationships compared to 94 percent in 2016.
To make matters worse nine percent of respondents surveyed in 2018 rated partner programmes as “not at all important”, while almost a quarter rated them as lacking importance.
Canalys said vendors must get partners aligned as the market faces disruption from the cloud and digital technologies.
Alex Smith, senior director of channels research at Canalys, said: “Partners have more levers to pull. They can provide more of their services or make new technology vendor partnerships to fulfil specific opportunities. Meanwhile, vendors often change programmes to reflect changes in partner business models and to spur loyalty, but such changes can have the unintended consequence of increasing complexity, leading to frustration.”
Consistency or changes to programmes as the top complaint, with 16 per cent of respondents selecting it among their top issues. Complexity in achieving certifications and specialisations was the next highest at 15 percent.
Canalys analyst Sharon Hiu said: “As partners develop different service models, the most successful vendors will be those that effectively help partners adapt their technical capabilities. The huge challenge is to keep programmes simple while our industry embraces complex new technologies,”
“Vendors must take action, such as investing in stronger digital tools, including integrated automation and AI-enabled capabilities, to help reduce partners’ manual administration work.”Partner managers must also become more empowered and offer personalised support for individual partner needs. The channel is pressuring vendors to do just this,” Hiu said.
