disciplines, the report continued, “and the bar moves ever higher. It’s understandable that many channel firms have skill or resource gaps that affect what they can offer clients.” Similar pressures are being felt by the large organizations surveyed by KPMG. When asked to list the partner attributes that were most important when making ecosystem partnerships, respondents cited “experience and expertise within their industry” as the number one priority. But when asked to cite the most important attributes in the coming one to three years, “technological compatibility” moved to priority number one. “Agility and receptiveness to digital transformation initiatives,” meanwhile, leaped past “shared vision and goals” to become the number three priority. Incidentally, digital transformation was the top capability sought in ecosystem partnerships when business leaders were asked to consider objectives, with 54 percent of respondents looking to outsource those capabilities. R&D and culture, on the other hand, were the leading capabilities that respondents aim to build themselves, showed the KMPG data. The complexity of generative AI, in particular, also has significantly impacted ecosystems strategy and planning for organizations surveyed by KPMG, said the advisory firm, prompting organizations to increasingly depend on partners for generative AI solutions in the future. The survey found that 48 percent of organizations feel that generative AI has influenced their ecosystem strategy and planning, while generative AI ranked as the number one technological aspect in which firms anticipate increasingly relying on partners, followed by cloud technology and SaaS solutions. “Ecosystem partners play a crucial role in an organization’s Gen AI program by providing specialized tools and, technical expertise, sharing knowledge, fostering innovation and accelerating AI project deployment,” said KPMG. For any coming wave of ecosystems partnership to provide their intended outcomes, changes first must be made to how they are approached and entered, CompTIA researchers warned. Up to this point, failure rates have been high, according to years of survey data on the matter, due in large part to the frequency of informal arrangements. “No more handshake deals; channel firms need to iron out the conditions of a partnership in a legal contract that covers all aspects of the arrangement, from liability issues that can crop up to who owns the customer relationship,” said CompTIA’s most recent IT industry outlook. KPMG findings likewise suggest a lack of formalized arrangements. Only about a third of respondents said they consistently measure the performance of their ecosystem, while about a quarter have made no effort to measure performance whatsoever. Arguably in turn, seven in 10 organizations admitted to struggling with aligning goals and expectations among partners, while about half reported challenges in managing change with their ecosystem of partners. “The key to making these relationships work is formalizing them. It’s wise to cement the details of any partnership deal in a contract that addresses everything from expectations to liabilities,” concluded CompTIA analysts. And getting things right will be important to lots of end users, as 70 percent of channel organizations said they expect an increase in partnering activity in the next 12 months. o CHANNEL MANAGEMENT Tech Partners Dominate In a bit of good news for tech channels, large organizations’ ecosystems are “dominated by technology partners, emphasizing the importance of collaborating for technology expertise,” said researchers at advisory firm KPMG. When asked what types of partners currently are part of their ecosystems, “technology partners” topped the list, cited by 84 percent of respondents. Closely behind were “strategic/business partners” at 78 percent, following by “distribution partners” (52 percent), “supplier/ manufacturers” (48 percent) and “marketing partners” (45 percent). Source: IBM Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 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 CEOs CFOs Tech leaders 36% 50% 47% 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 Technological compatibility Experience and expertise within the industry Agility and receptiveness to digital transformation initiatives Data privacy and security within the ecosystem Shared vision and goals Cultural fit and trust ESG commitments of the partners 60% 54% 44% 44% 29% 28% 26% 14% Which partner attributes do you anticipate will become more important for your ecosystem in the next 1-3 years? Source: KPMG 59% 56% 52% 43% 41% 34% 14% 36 CHANNELVISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2025
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