In an interesting twist in the IT channel space, a new report published by analyst firm Canalys highlights the best and worst-performing vendors in the channel management space and named companies such as AWS, VMware, Symantec, Microsoft,Huawei, McAfee and Citrix as “stragglers”.
The company asked channel partners about their experiences with major vendors in the tech space, categorizing them into champions, growers, contenders and stragglers, according to a report published by CRN.
Canalys claims that in case of ’stragglers’, the businesses have showed significant weakness in areas of channel management or have “seen a deterioration in partner relationships, either by choice or mistake,” even though they can be leaders in their respective domain in terms of market share and revenues. For example, Canalys drew particular attention to Microsoft and VMware, two firms which have “highly successful businesses built on sales via partners.”
The survey, called the Canalys Leadership Matrix, is based on more than 2,700 responses from EMEA channel partners who were asked to rate their vendor partners across 10 areas of channel management.
According to the analyst firm, Microsoft was accused of “squeezing channel margins” as it shifts its focus towards its cloud channel programmes such as Cloud Solution Provider, while VMware’s move to appoint Dell EMC as a distributor of its licenses left partners displeased.
The top-scoring vendors in the survey included Fujitsu, Cisco, Lenovo, Palo Alto Networks and Veeam. Cisco, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Palo Alto Networks and Veeam as champions thanks to their focus on indirect rather than direct business. Theses companies value their cloud relationships and provide partners with the tools they need to succeed, Canalys found, whether that be partner profitability, training, tools or engagement, said the report.
The report based on the survey claims that Cisco’s quality of technical support for partners remains unparalleled when compared with its competitors, while Lenovo’s “Channel 2.0″ initiative, that aimed at simplify partner incentives, was well received by the channel.
Apple saw the greatest ratings improvement out of all vendors in the survey, according to Canalys. The tech titan’s overall rating was still relatively low compared with its peers and its resellers still suffer from “low margin potential” and “rigid terms and conditions” from the vendor. But Canalys claims Apple is “recognizing the importance of the channel to help it deliver solutions, particularly as it builds relationships with vendors such as Cisco.”