To gain insight into these IT/Telecom partnerships, the two organizations polled 100 IT VARs and 100 Telecom agents. 61 of IT respondents and 66 percent of Telecom agents cited emerging technologies, such as the cloud, industry competition and customers’ growing desire for a single-source solution as the main reasons to enter into these strategic partnerships.
“Firms have figured out that for these pairings to succeed long-term, the rules of engagement and responsibilities must elevate beyond a handshake agreement,” said Carolyn April, Director, Industry Analysis, CompTIA. “Setting sales strategy together, determining revenue goals and targets and establishing account ownership are all critical factors that contribute to success.”
The study also showed that these partnerships are going far beyond the “handshake” level, requiring formal business agreements and a deep mutual understanding of the organization’s business and mission. According to the study, the results of these partnerships include an increase in joint sales and marketing, as well as higher profitability overall.
In particular, IT organizations said that their joint-marketing went from 4% to 10% year over year, while the Telecom organizations found that joint sales went up from 10% to 18%. 2/5 of IT VARs reported 50%-75% of their revenue earned was a direct result of these partnerships. For 42% of Telecom agents polled, this revenue marked in the 25%-50% range.
Please visit the site here to download full study results.
