ISPs and ITSPs need to step up their game to find bold new solutions and services to support their customers. This requires thinking way outside of their comfort zone.
It was not easy to do when the World was normal. It’s more difficult today because digital transformation has been hyper-accelerated and everyone is still working remotely! In many cases, it’s a race against time as businesses are forced to adapt or die. Many may not make the transition.
The bottom line…Future-proofing your channel business in the new digital-first economy is going to require big changes on all levels! Changes will have to happen at distribution (great to see the pivot from Synnex and others). Changes will need to happen at the partner level as they need to do things differently and solve problems that they never considered in the past. Changes will have to be made at the vendor level as their traditional channel programs will not be relevant in the future.
Not every vendor has to worry. Those who were lucky to be in the sweet spot got the greatest sales booster from the pandemic.
So, what is one way for channel partners to embark or accelerate on this digital journey?
Well Synnex’s approach is to promote the solutions of many ISVs to their current channel customers to explore new business opportunities. It’s not JUST about selling the ISV’s solution, but all of the services and hardware that can be wrapped around. Synnex’s Ammar Akbrani and Gustavo Guimeraes presented the company’s vision for their channel partners.
Synnex has created a marketplace for ISVs to showcase their solutions and for channel partners to explore and discover new opportunities. Build it and they will come makes sense as marketplaces are eventually going to be a significant go-to spot for buyers.
Microsoft’s Kerri Connolly added some additional insights to help channel partners to wrap their brains around the opportunity (powered by Microsoft). Here are a couple of images that boil down the message and paint the picture for channel partners.
Here is an interesting slide on looking at your current digital transformation portfolio but remember this is easier said than done. Unpacking each of these segments is not trivial and it comes with many moving parts to piece together. It is like getting a self-assembly furniture – if one part is missing, it may break.
