CompTIA, the IT industry association published its "IT Industry Outlook 2014," which projects worldwide revenue will rise 3.4 percent in the year ahead. With channel partners pinning their hopes on the potential of cloud, mobility, big data, vendors need to ensure their channel enablement and partner programs are meeting the needs of channel partners and strengthening loyalty.

Profitability of software and services drive partner investment - can your partners get what they need to grow their business - from you?

51% of survey respondents expect IT Services to be profitable and 41% expect software to be profitable, while 21% expect software to be profitable. 40% of channel partners expect to invest in new products and services. While expanding your solutions with higher margin technologies and services, you need to ensure that every element of your channel readiness program is designed to drive success.

Our most progressive clients are demonstrating commitment to this changing model and it’s reflected in the channel enablement and loyalty programs they are launching. If you sell through channels, make sure you:

• Provide ‘short burst’ training for your new products that fits the time frames that reps can dedicate. Measure completion of the training in your indirect sales channels and tie it to sales performance. When you know which reps, for which resellers are competent and successful selling the new products, you know how to play your strongest hand for each opportunity.
• Design your loyalty and incentive programs to drive the sales activity you need. Tie incentives to opportunity identification, opportunity management and deal progression. A well designed program will both enable and reward third party sales channels for shifting from what they have sold well in the past, to what they need to sell well in the future.
• Focus on how you can help your partners work will in the context of an ‘ecosystem’. Develop programs that encourage your partners to work together so everyone wins. Imagine software, hardware and services partners all working together with your technology. Make it easy for them to do so.

As I wrote in an earlier post, channel partner loyalty can easily be at risk. More of your competitors want to drive more business through the channel…your channel partners. To read the earlier post, click here.

For more in the CompTIA report, click here

ChannelAssist provides a proven platform - software and services - to drive channel partner engagement, loyalty and revenue growth. Our partner loyalty and relationship management platform powers the HP Blue Carpet program across North America – highly regarded for channel partner engagement, loyalty and incentive leadership.

ChannelAssist offers strategy, technology, analytics, and services so you can track, understand, reward, and grow channel partner relationships and revenue.