of these types of arrangements, and in turn, instances of ecosystem partnering appear to be skyrocketing. But in order for these partnerships to bear the intended fruit, the details of these deals need to be a bit different moving forward, experts warn. According to channel partners surveyed for CompTIA’s 2025 IT Industry Outlook, a full 90 percent of channel firms expressed intent to participate in partnering with other channel firms. As many as six out of 10 channel respondents polled by CompTIA (which was recently renamed as the Global Technology Industry Association) described their partnering activity as a strategic and formalized part of their business operation. The top reason for entering an ecosystem partnership was to gain access to “more offerings for customers,” said respondents, followed by a need to fill skill gaps, amplify complementary business models and gain access to partners with vertical experience. Ecosystem partnering also is seen as a way to blunt competition from online marketplaces, said CompTIA analysts, by enabling firms to expand their technical capabilities, geographic footprint, and, in some cases, their sales effectiveness. And it’s not just IT and telecom channels where the trend toward ecosystems is “gaining steam.” According to a survey of leaders at 258 U.S. large organizations by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP, more than three-quarters of respondents said the number of their ecosystem partnerships has increased during the past three years, while 83 percent expressed plans to expand their partner ecosystem during the coming three years. Nearly half expressed interest in exploring not just traditional partnerships but also new technology affiliations, strategic alliances or other collaborative relationships. What’s more, “A staggering 75 percent of respondents view ecosystem partnerships as a pivotal component for growth, fueling innovation, driving transformation and helping them adapt to industry changes by leveraging industry expertise and resources,” said KPMG analysts upon release of the results last December. Looking ahead, a full 94 percent of organizations surveyed by KPMG believe that their partner ecosystem will serve as an enabler for future growth, competitive advantage and business resilience, said the advisory firm. For contestants both inside and outside of the channel, the market pressures encouraging the development of ecosystem partnerships are unsurprisingly similar. Both groups of respondents directly attribute the shift in need to the complexity of today’s IT assets, delivery models and technological advancements. As CompTIA researchers explain, a relatively straightforward menu of hardware and software choices has “mushroomed into a massive curricula of data services, e-commerce, AI, software as a service (SaaS), cybersecurity, cloud computing and mobile devices.” In this wide and highly specialized world, channel firms can find the capacity to provide services up and down the technology stack overwhelming, if not impossible, leading to this “renewed interest” in partnering with other channel firms. “Consider the level of skill and resources needed to declare expertise in even one or two of tech’s main disciplines, say cybersecurity or data science. It’s not a low bar,” continued CompTIA researchers. Factor in the acumen to deliver adjacent services and infrastructure that support just those two Top Reasons for Participating with Other Channel Firms Micro Small Medium Large 43% More offerings for customers 45% Fill skills gaps 52% More offerings for customers 51% More offerings for customers 31% Fill skills gaps 45% Amplify complementary business models 49% Gain access to partners with vertical experience 50% Fill skills gaps 24% Broaden geographic sales footprint 41% More offerings for customers 48% Fill skills gaps 40% Amplify complementary business models Source: CompTIA Source: Gartner Percentage saying the IT organization is effective at providing basic technology services. Source: IBM Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 In the future, for which technological aspects do you anticipate your organization will increasingly rely on partners? Source: KPMG Integration technologies/APIs/API architecture Hyperautomation Low-code/no-code platforms Legacy infrastructure and data center technologies 32% 55% 58% 71% 74% 5% 3% 6% 7% 43% CEOs 2013 Today Today Today 2013 2013 CFOs Tech leaders 64% 36% 50% 47% 69% 60% Gen AI Cloud technologies Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions AI/ML Advanced security measures and data privacy practices IT infrastructure support Developing and leveraging LLMs Augmented reality/Virtual reality 60% 54% 44% 44% 29% 28% 26% 14% Which partner attributes do you anticipate will become more 35 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2025 | CHANNELVISION
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