“Seismic” Events in IT Services

As in any solution strategy, hardware or service, solution providers need to choose their partners wisely.  Being from Ingram Micro, my position on this issue goes without saying.  As services models and service providers evolve, it is critical that solution providers take into account who their partners are and what the strategies  – or agendas – of those partners – really are.

Direct or indirect?  Do you partners claim to support both?  If they do support both, and you run into selling or account conflicts, don’t pretend to be shocked and horrified.  You’ve been around long enough to know better.  

Is your partners’ success completely dependent on your success?  If so, they are highly motivated to make you successful and satisfied.  If not, well, who can blame them for looking out for themselves? 

And lastly, do your partners work with you or against you?  Meaning, do they support the channel model AND other, competitive models as well?  Do they provide you a really killer price while driving down your value in the market by doing so?  Will they sell against you given the chance?

The moral of the story – make sure you know what you’re getting into.  Understand who your partners are and what they are trying to do – what their business model is.  If their success is dependent on your success, those are generally the horses to hook your wagons to.  

It amazes me how much press many business models get when they are actually bad for solution providers an bad for the channel.  The old saying still holds water - you get what you pay for.   Or even more to the point: Buyer Beware.