This is the first of many articles to come based on a session held at MSPWorld Orlando. This session, moderated by Dan Wilson (co-chair of the vendor relations committee), produced a lot of great ideas for vendors. These ideas are useful, both for MSP's and vendors because the following issues are all high priority items MSP's want to see from their vendors. So, let's begin.
Better margins. No surprise here. This is the age old debate in the channel and it hasn't gone away. Honestly, it probably will never go away entirely but it is important that we talk about it. Vendors typically respond to the "more margin please" question by saying that they have hard costs that cannot go away and that if the channel partners would produce more (i.e., become more effective) they would reward those partners with wider profit margins.
In response, solution providers typically claim that they are not "agents" of any one vendor and must represent and serve the interests of the client who, more often than not, do not care about brand as much as they care about the solution actually working. No matter which side you are on, it is important the channel come to some resolution quickly.
If you are a MSP looking for good vendors, margin is definitely one of the questions you want to ask up front. No matter how good the product/solution is, if you can't make money at it it probably isn't worth your time. Of course, if your vendor happens to provide you with a solution/product that enables you to sell it at a price you determine (i.e., you incorporate the solution into your own service) then you have a business relationship with a vendor that truly recognizes you as a partner.
