Whether they’re aiming to expand their network or generate revenue, more businesses are turning to the Partner Channel model. Why? Because they’re learning that we work best, together.
If you’ve been hanging around SaaS providers – or delving into the world of Microsoft – of late, you’ll be familiar with the term ‘Partner Channel’. In essence, this collaborative network of resellers, distributors, consultants, and system integrators you cultivate in your channel is like having your very own strategic alliance on speed dial.
Why the Popularity?
The Partner Channel model contributes a lot to the likes of business growth, profitability, and gaining a competitive edge in the industry.
For partners – whether they’re resellers or MSPs – the Partner Channel model offers the chance to tap not just into an established, readily-available, and externally-managed tool but all the support infrastructure around it too. With this new resource, channel partners can expand their service offering and revenue without having to plan for additional sales, marketing, and technical resource. Take Microsoft, for example: its partners can leverage a well-known brand and well-respected toolset to sell more of what their customers are after, with access to training, marketing resources, and a recognisable name to sell. With 95% of Microsoft’s revenue flowing through its partners, it’s clearly a model that’s working for everybody involved.
Meanwhile, the Partner Channel model also facilitates networking with industry experts and potential customers, opening doors to strategic alliances, knowledge sharing, and potential business collaborations. Through this model, partners gain exposure to a wider network, enabling them to expand their business and access additional resources. The expertise of the trusted company they collaborate with becomes an asset that partners can leverage to their advantage.
But what about the other side of the equation; what’s in it for the SaaS provider? Well, the main advantage is that the partner channel greatly increases their reach, providing access to new audiences that might otherwise have been far beyond their current capabilities. What’s more, working with partners relieves some of the pressure on technical teams, who can focus on developing new products and iterations instead of being slowed down with technical tasks for individual customers. All-in-all, agility is the name of the game, with the partner channel serving as fertile ground for getting ideas moving thanks to the reliance on fewer resources.
In fact, as the majority of the selling and user management is on the partner, the provider can leverage training to educate a partner’s sales and technical teams in the name of self-enablement, ensuring that the model continues to work for everybody.
The end result is a two-way relationship where all involved can reinvigorate their value propositions and unlock new capabilities – making for a mutually beneficial partnership built on fostering growth, profitability, and success together.
How Does it Work?
A successful Partner Channel model is comprised of many moving parts – including marketing strategy and partner enablement – which must work in tandem to generate the kind of benefits everybody’s after.
Take Surveil Together – our own partner programme – for example. With Surveil Together, partners can choose to resell Surveil or use its insights to underpin and evolve new or existing managed service offerings – giving them new opportunity, bolstered revenue, longer-lasting relationships, and a more varied offering. By leveraging Surveil’s AI-powered insights, partners can cultivate new sales conversations and foster innovation.
Of course, we also understand that each partner’s journey is unique, so we work to provide tailored support every step of the way, aligning with their specific goals and needs. For our reseller partners, we go above and beyond by equipping them with comprehensive marketing materials and expertise, empowering them to confidently sell the product and drive increased sales and customer acquisition.
Additionally, partners who prefer to utilise our SaaS solution to enhance their own managed services can do so seamlessly through our new Surveil Volume Agreement (SVA) offering, supported by recommendations for where the platform can underpin a managed service.
What Do Customers Get Out of It?
Partners and providers needn’t be the only ones benefiting from the Partner Channel model. By accessing SaaS tooling through their partner (and, in turn, the channel), customers can enjoy the confidence associated with knowing the tool is being improved upon by a team of experts while their Microsoft partner looks after everything else. They also benefit from the partner enablement, able to access a wealth of knowledge to support their own usage while reaping the benefits of a cloud solution. Everybody wins.
At Surveil, we’re 100% channel-focused – which gives us time and resources to support our partners in their endeavours. For end customers keen to see how Surveil can help their organisations, don’t worry: we’ll still pick up the phone. We’ll just be sure to work with your Microsoft partner (or introduce you to one) if you choose to bring your cloud optimisation to life with Surveil.
As for partners, if you’re interested in unlocking your customers’ potential, get in touch today to enquire about our Surveil Together programme.
