It's 2012 and the IT channel is changing. More to the point, the IT channel has changed, and I don't think it will be coming back. At least the way we remember it.
For a few years now I've been witnessing a shift in the way vendors and service providers interact. The shift has been subtle but if you pay attention to what's happening, it is a big change in the way vendors and MSPs are behaving. Since 2008, vendors of all sizes have been replaying their age old dilemma; do we go direct or through the channel? Cloud has only served to confuse this issue, with companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and others now going direct to end-users with their services.
Add to this confusion the fact that MSPs are now beginning to sell to other MSPs in record numbers. NOC, help desk, security, hosting, and other capabilities are being offered to MSPs by companies who have not previously sold through the channel. The channel is changing before our very eyes. The question that remains is how will vendors utilize the channel in the future. This is what I believe will happen.
We are now seeing vendors employing a different approach to channel development, particularly when it comes to recruiting MSPs. It used to be standard channel practice to assemble partner programs that had the most numbers of MSPs. In fact, if you look at most of the RMM platform vendors, you'll see partners numbers that are relatively similar. When you look deeper, all these vendors are now trying to make their existing MSPs more successful. Recruiting new MSPs is still important, but if they can't make existing MSPs more productive then just adding more partners won't really matter. This philosophy is spreading and now new MSP programs launched by vendors are shifting focus from the number of MSPs to the right MSPs.
Case in point, Intuit launched a partner program for service providers that wanted to commercially host QuickBooks and other Intuit products. Instead of just accepting anyone that applied, Intuit established fairly rigorous filters to ensure that they get only qualified and tested partners. Other vendors, including legacy channel veterans, are now planning to launch MSP programs and are taking a similar approach to Intuit. Smarter MSPs, mean better, more efficient and productive partners, who don't drain resources.
In 12 years of MSP and channel experience, I have never witnessed such a widespread shift of vendors moving towards smaller, more productive, and more agile MSP partner programs. The only question I have is how long will it take the rest of the vendor community follow this path.
