Industry Voice: CRN research reveals the drivers behind partnership success for SaaS vendors

In today's channel, both vendors and resellers must go beyond just offering a good product. This is especially true in the context of the growth in the subscription model and as-a-service. Sales do not simply involve a singular transaction but rely on forming a lasting relationship with end-user organisations and channel partners.

Those in the channel must expand their offerings in order to stay competitive, providing a portfolio of services to solve customer pain points holistically. They must keep their service offerings up-to-date with emerging technologies to ensure they are supporting customers' wider business objectives, rather than offering point solutions.

In this market, resellers may struggle to differentiate themselves and understand their role in adding value to vendors' services. Subscription-based pricing models can be complex, and it is harder to conceptualise services such as workflow solutions rather than specific products with specific functions.

Customers also require guidance on incorporating cutting-edge technologies as they embark on digital transformation projects. Many businesses recognise the need to improve their processes with tech such as artificial intelligence (AI). However, they might struggle to get started or face challenges integrating them with their existing systems.

But what constitutes a successful partnership? And how can those in the channel navigate a fast-moving technology landscape? CRN surveyed IT leaders from end-user organisations to understand what makes a successful partnership and what can cause a partnership to fail.

The factor deemed most critical to successful long-term partnerships with SaaS vendors was prompt and effective technical and customer support, chosen by 31 per cent of respondents. Strong support in marketing and sales strategies and ongoing product development were chosen as the most important factors by 20 per cent, respectively.

Supporting customers' wider business goals was deemed the most important factor in a successful partnership, followed by robust technical integration and support. Discount levels and investment were deemed less important.

When starting new partnerships, an absence of field support and insufficient training were the biggest challenges for 32 per cent of respondents.

The driving factor behind partnership breakdowns was over-promising from vendors during partnership formation, chosen by 30 per cent, followed by partners not aligning on business goals or market needs, chosen by 24 per cent.

To explore these areas and more, register for CRN's upcoming webinar on the 12th June: Unlocking partnership success: Avoiding pitfalls with the right vendor whilst optimising processes, the webinar will include insights from DocuWare and Ricoh and feature bespoke research from CRN.

This Article is sponsored by DocuWare