Last week I discussed a few eyebrow-raising comments Chris Rimer of IBM made during our most recent webinar. Chris, one of two guests during the webinar, positioned that vendors are not responsible for funding partners’ shift to the cloud.
It’s no surprise the cloud has impacted every facet of the IT space, from the way technology is built, sold and delivered to the way vendors and partners interact. It’s also no surprise that the number of partners that have the ability to support a cloud-only business model is disappointingly low. That’s why the question, “What is the role of partners in an increasingly cloud-focused world?” is being asked regularly—and often with different answers.
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Amanda Hawkins, Marketing Director at PartnerPath, talk about a new infographic showcasing the changing funnel in the new customer lifecycle. Vendors and partners both can benefit from understanding the change from a traditional funnel to an new ongoing sales and marketing cycle. In the second half of the discussion Charlene and Amanda focus on what steps marketers can take at each stage of the customer lifecycle to keep customers engaged. What do you think of our five steps to get started?
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath, discuss some of the findings from the PartnerPath 2016 State of Partnering report around partner regrets. According to partners, what are the top three reasons they regret joining a vendor's channel program? What are the bottom two? How have these rankings changed over the last several years? Be sure your channel program isn't causing your partners to have regrets. Take a listen and let us know what you think of the results.
Channel partners act as trusted advisors for their customers.
Gone are the days of partners purchasing products from vendors or distributors, warehousing those products, configuring the solution and installing it on the customer’s site. Yes, some products are still delivered in this manner and some solution providers are still making a very good living as resellers. However, as we look to where the industry and channel ecosystem are going – this model doesn’t have long before it is obsolete. Partners are becoming trusted advisors and also taking on more cloud roles.
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath, chat with guest George Dziedzic, Founder and Managing Director at Foster MacCallum, about the change in the vendor/partner power shift. On the heels of Chuck Robbins' comments about the power of partnerships at the Cisco Partner Summit, George notes that customers are becoming less concerned with vendor brands and are focusing more on the quality and deployment of the solution by the partners. Diane and Charlene share thoughts on how vendors can avoid being lost and remain relevant in this shift of power. Are you seeing partners take more ownership of the customer relationship? Tell us what you think.
This week, hosts Charlene O'Hanlon, channel industry editor & writer, and Diane Krakora, CEO of PartnerPath, chat about some of the key points from the 2016 Cisco Partner Summit. Cisco Channel Chief Wendy Bahr spoke about the evolution of partner strategy and it's components. She also talked about priorities including security, software and line of business selling. Hear about some of her other comments and how Diane and Charlene think these strategies will affect Cisco partners and the partner channel as a whole. Do you agree? Let us know what you think.