Table of Contents
Overview .............................................................................. 3
Agent-VAR Partnerships Today ................................................. 4
Number of Partnerships

Types of Partnerships

Compensation Models

Value of Partnerships

Drivers Behind Partnerships

Factors Influencing Agent-VAR Partnerships

Impact of Emerging Trends and New Business Models

Success Factors and Priorities for Agent-VAR Partnerships .......... 13
Factors Influencing Success

Expectations and Priorities

The Future of Agent-VAR Partnerships ...................................... 16
Intentions to Partner

Factors Influencing the Success of Partnerships
Going Forward

Conclusion .......................................................................... 19
About ................................................................................. 20
The Research

The Authors

CompTIA

Channel Partners

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Partnering Trends Between Telecom and IT Channels — 2013 2 Channel Partners, channelpartnersonline.com • CompTIA, comptia.org

Overview
P
artnering between IT VARs and telecom services agents continues to grow
more commonplace in the industry. The relationships also are maturing as both
groups have begun to move beyond opportunistic handshake deals, which
easily fray, to a more formalized, accountable approach to the relationships. Evidence
of this can be seen in the uptick of joint selling and marketing among a percentage
of these two industry players, a distinct shift from what have been loosely coupled
arrangements based on referrals.
In order to continue tracking the convergence of these markets, Channel Partners
and CompTIA teamed up for the third time to conduct an in-depth study exploring
the nature and health of these IT VAR and telecom agent partnerships. In separate
online surveys to 100 IT VARs (a mix of resellers, solution providers, managed services
providers, etc.) and 100 telecom agents (master agents, subagents and consultants),
the study covers a range of topics from revenue generation, partnership structure,
satisfaction levels, partnering drivers and success factors, and the impact of external
developments in the industry such as the cloud computing model.
Clearly, the convergence of IT and telecom technologies as well as decision-making
at the point of the customer has been a factor in driving these partnerships as agents
and VARs seek to provide an end-to-end solution, encompassing both telecom and IT,
thus capturing a greater amount of customer wallet share.

Components of U.S. Telecom & IT Market

32% 68%
Telecom IT Hardware,
Services Software &
Services

The ongoing convergence of the “traditional” IT and telecom services sectors will
bring new opportunities for partnering, but also challenges for those ill-prepared.
Source: IDC

Emerging trends such as cloud also are a strong force driving the two parties together.
Ninety percent of VARs and 70 percent of agents said emerging delivery models such
as cloud and managed services have had a positive impact on their partnerships.
More findings such as these can be found in the following report sections, including
additional year-on-year trend comparisons that help illuminate the patterns developing
as these partnerships grow more common and entrenched.


Agent-VAR
Partnerships Today
Number of Partnerships
As in the previous years’ surveys, the overwhelming majority of agents and VARs
responding to the 2013 survey said they have at least one partnership. VARs reported
more exclusive relationships with agents than vice versa, while agents tended to have
more partnerships of equal importance.
Specifically, nearly all of the agent respondents said they currently have at least one
partnership with a VAR. Three in 10 said they had one primary partner with other
secondary partners. More than half (58 percent) of respondents said they had multiple
partnerships of equal relevance.
Eight in 10 VARs report having had at least one partnership with either a master
agent or subagent in the last year, up from seven in 10 that did so in 2012. The increase
comes mainly in the number of partnerships VARs have across multiple subagents
as opposed to casting their lot with a single subagent partner. It’s less common
for VARs to work with multiple master agents (just 16 percent did), which makes
sense since master agents represent a wide swath of telecom service providers and
carriers, opening access to a range of services the VAR partner might be seeking to sell
or implement.
While few agents (less than one in 10) have no partners, one in four VARs do not.
Why not? For the most part it comes down to a genuine lack of interest or a case of not
having tried. Most VARs (80 percent) that said they are not involved in a telecom agent
relationship cited those two reasons. Network and telecom convergence, along with
cloud, are driving many of these partnerships, and so for VARs not living in the worlds
of unified communications or related technologies, the agent partnership might seem
an odd fit. However, as businesses continue to shift toward the cloud and recurring
revenue models, and customers seek a single source for IT and telecom services, more
VARs and agents are likely to at least consider these relationships. One good reason?
The need to fill in skills gaps, which is found to be a primary driver to partnering.

Number of Partnerships Between Agents and VARs
58%
Multiple partners
16%
of equal relevance
25%

Agent partnerships
33%
One partner, other with VARs
28%
secondary partners
31%

VAR partnerships with
3%
master agents
One partner 32%
24%

VARs partnerships
7%
with agents/subagents
None 24%
20%

Source: Channel Partners and CompTIA Agent-VAR Partnering Survey, January 2013


Types of Partnerships
A common refrain in this year’s data is the growing formalization of VAR-agent
partnerships, which suggests that the success of these relationships lies with close
understanding of one another’s business model, clear and regular communication,
and set rules of engagement for things like account ownership, sales strategy and
compensation/revenue models — all of which are discussed in detail later in this report.
So, let’s take a look at the many ways that agents and VARs engage with one another.
One of the most common is to swap leads with no reciprocal compensation. This is
done both formally and informally. The 2013 survey showed that at least among VAR
respondents there is a move toward more formalized partnerships compared to 2012.

Lead Swapping Between Agents and VARs
Informally swap leads for services, with no reciprocal pay or agreements
2013
9% 18%

2012
18% 18%

Formally swap leads under agreement
2013
26% 6%
VARs
2012
9% 5% Agents

Source: Channel Partners and CompTIA Agent-VAR Partnering Survey, January 2012 and January 2013

Further evidence of the formalization and deepening of agent-VAR partnerships is
in the reported increase in joint marketing and selling. Specifically, VARs said joint
marketing more than doubled year over year, from 4 percent to 10 percent; agents
reported insignificant activity and no increase year over year. However, agents reported
a nearly double increase in joint selling — from 10 percent to 18 percent — though
VARs noted a marked decline in what was already limited activity.

Joint Selling & Marketing Between Agents and VARs
Joint marketing under a formal agreement
2013
10% 1%

2012
18% 1%

Joint selling under a formal agreement
2013
2% 18%

VARs
2012
9% 10% Agents



As in last year’s survey, the most common type of partnership involved VARs selling
carrier services through an agent. As telecom services become more entwined with
the type of network infrastructure deployments that are the bread and butter of many
VARs, offering telecom services as part of an end-to-end offer makes increasing sense.
Agents typically pay VARs in one of two ways — a referral fee on a closed sale or
a recurring commission as a subagent. Interestingly, two in five agents said they pay
VARs commissions while less than one in five VARs said the same. One in 10 agents
said they pay VARs a referral fee while one in five VARs said they received a referral fee.
These numbers did not change noticeably year over year.

How Agents Pay VARs
Agent pays recurring commission to VAR under subagent agreement
2013
14% 40%

2012
17% 43%

Agents pay a referral fee for closed leads
2013
18% 10%
VARs
2012
24% 10% Agents


Very few partnerships between agents and VARs involved the agent selling for the
VAR. In the rare situations that it does occur, the compensation is reportedly balanced
between referral fees and a percentage of the total deal.

How VARs Pay Agents
VAR pays our agency a referral fee for closed leads
2013
4% 4%

2012
7% 5%

VAR gives agent a cut of total deal sold to agent’s customer
2013
4% 3%
VARs
2012
6% 3% Agents



Compensation Models
There appears to be some settling in around compensation models this year that
also might reflect a growing understanding of one another’s business. For example,
42 percent of IT VARs describe their compensation structure from agents this year as
coming in the form of upfront revenue, which is up from just 28 percent last year.
Agents tend to seek out a recurring revenue model, which is in line with how they
sell telecom services and renewals, but IT VARs are still mainly steeped in transactional
product- and project-based revenue — though many are in transition today to recurring
revenue. The fact that the agents are compensating IT VARs more in line with how they
typically get paid in the IT world suggests that a better understanding of the business
models of their partners, which is singled out as a major determinant to success.

Value of Partnerships
Partnering is all about generating revenue and profit — whether that’s by expanding
offerings to existing customers or acquiring new clients based on a broader portfolio
of skills. VARs and agents are no different. Both agents and VARs continue to derive
significant value from their partnerships, with an ever greater share of revenue
attributable to these relationships.
Two in five agents said their partnerships with VARs/dealers accounted for less than
25 percent of their revenue in the last 12 months, but this was a decrease from last
year when more than half said the same. More agents said revenue from partnerships
has shifted to the 25-49 percent range.
VARs also saw a slight shift in the share of revenue from partnerships, with more
reporting 75-99 percent. A majority of VARs — two in five — still report that 50-74
percent of their revenue comes from partnerships with agents.

Percentage of Revenue from Agent-VAR Partnerships in the Last 12 Months
Percentage of Revenue from Agent-VAR Partnerships in the Last 12 Months
4% 1%
100%
5% 0%

18% 11%
75%-99%
12% 10%

45% 12%
50%-74%
43% 13%
VARs
21% 30%
Agents
25%-49%
25% 25%

12% 42% 2013
Less than 25%
14% 52% 2012



It’s important to note that these high percentages for revenue reflect the entirety of
any deal. For example, if a telecom agent brings an IT VAR partner into a telecom sale
to provide the network implementation or hardware solutions, the referral fee is likely
the only “real” money that exchanges hands and can be considered a direct result of
the partnership. But it’s all about the door-opening opportunity. The follow-on work
the IT VAR does with this customer is where the real dollars are made — a situation not
likely possible had the agent not pulled the IT firm on board in the first place.
While a significant portion of their revenue comes from partnerships, a majority of
agents and VARs still view these relationships as “tactical,” or opportunistic based on
the needs of specific customers. That said, a significant number — 37 percent of VARs
and 30 percent of agents — say these relationships are “strategic,” or key to their
portfolio offerings.

How VARs and Agents Characterize Their Partnerships
30%
Strategic (key to
my portfolio) 37%

Tactical (opportunistic 63% Agents
based on a specific
customer need) 58%

8% VARs
Referral
5%


Broadly speaking, VARs and agents are quite happy with the results of these
partnerships in the last year. Eighty-five percent of VARs and 76 percent of agents are
“satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with their partnerships. Almost none were dissatisfied,
and very few — one in four agents and one in eight VARs — were neutral on the point.

Satisfaction With Partnerships in the Last 12 Months
26%
Highly satisfied 85% of VARs and
24%
76% of agents are
satisfied with their
50%
Satisfied partnerships
61%

24%
Neutral
13%

0% Agents
Dissatisfied
1%

0% VARs
Highly dissatisfied
0%



Drivers Behind Partnerships
We have mentioned some of the key drivers behind the decision to partner, including
the momentum around emerging technology and business models such as cloud
computing, along with the need to expand skill sets in order to compete against a
widening field of players across IT, telecom and other industries such as audio/visual
and physical security.
In this study, we assessed demand drivers for two different categories: partnering to
sell core services and partnering to sell emerging services and technologies.
For VARs, nearly every possible reason to partner with agents increased in frequency,
across both core and emerging services areas. As seen in the chart below, the majority
of these partnering drivers are financial in nature — either a means to drive sales or
to save money on activities such as training. Adding complementary, non-strategic
skills to the business through partnering is far less expensive than in-house training in
many cases.
Nearly universally (91 percent) of VARs say emerging trends, such as cloud and
managed services, have affected the status of their partnerships with agents favorably;
none said they have done so negatively. This is an interesting finding given that
anecdotally there has been a level of conjecture and apprehension that the emergence
of cloud solution providers paves the path for VARs to compete more effectively,
rather than partner with agents. And yet, 62 percent of VARs report that the emerging
business models and technologies have resulted in new partnership opportunities with
agents, while half say they are winning more deals and driving more revenue with
agents in these areas. Meantime, echoing the theme of more structured partnerships
this year, nearly three in 10 said emerging technologies and business models actually
are leading to agent partnerships that are more formalized in nature.

VAR Drivers Behind Partnering Decisions
Core Services Emerging Services
2013 Response Trend from 2012 2013 Response Trend from 2012

79% Gain access to new customers 65% Save money on training

63% Create new revenue streams 62% Fulfill existing customer demand

62% Fulfill existing customer demand 59% Create new revenue streams

60% Help fill in gaps in skill sets 58% Help fill in gaps in skill sets

54% Save money on training 39% Gain access to new customers



As with VARs, the primary drivers behind agents’ decisions to partner for core
services is to increase sales, specifically gaining access to new customers (81 percent),
serving existing customers (73 percent) or creating new revenue streams (72 percent).
The softer benefits — filling in skills gaps and saving money on training — also got very
high marks with more than two-thirds counting those as motivators.
For emerging services, the driver to partner shifted slightly with more agents
looking to create new revenue streams. More than three-fourths of agents also are
concerned about meeting customer needs for these new services and filling skills gaps
by partnering with VARs that they believe have an understanding of the customer
environment needed to effectively delivery IT and telephony services that previous lived
beyond the carrier demarcation.

Agents Drivers Behind Partnering Decisions
Core Services Emerging Services
2013 Response Trend from 2012 2013 Response Trend from 2012

81% Gain access to new customers 85% Create new revenue streams

73% Fulfill existing customer demand 79% Fulfill existing customer demand

72% Create new revenue streams 77% Help fill gaps in skill sets

70% Help fill in gaps in skill sets 75% Gain access to new customers

65% Save money on training 62% Save money on training


Factors Influencing Agent-VAR Partnerships
Looking a little deeper, the survey explored factors influencing channel partners’
decisions to partner with one company over another; the results were very similar year
over year for both agents and VARs.
Nine in 10 agents (89 percent) said the partners’ reputation was a “major” factor,
topping the list for the third year. Rounding out the top five major factors influencing
their decisions to partner is the quality of the VAR’s products and services (81 percent);
the VAR’s’ pre-, post- and joint sales support (74 percent); the VAR’s technical support
(67 percent); and lastly the agent’s personal relationship with the VAR (56 percent).
Interestingly, these factors were quite different from 2012 when the VAR’s technical
skills, financial health and understanding of the agent business model were most
highly valued. Perhaps this is a further indication that these partnerships are moving
past the introductory level to a more trusted, collaborative stage.


VARs’ No. 1 factor in deciding to partner with an agent changed this year from
product quality to technical support, which was mentioned by 52 percent of VARs as a
“major” factor. Product quality moved to No. 3 and was tied with partner’s reputation
with 49 percent. The No. 2 factor was the agent’s understanding of the VAR’s business
model (50 percent). Rounding out the top five was the agents’ commitment to the
VAR’s profitability and growth (48 percent). All of these were in the top five in 2012
as well.
The increased emphasis on working with a partner that provides solid technical
support is likely due to the prevalence of more sophisticated and complex product
sets and solutions, including cloud services and multisite WAN networks that support
cloud. Many VARs are getting up to speed in these areas and partnering with a telecom
agent that has existing technical acumen only speeds the ramp time.

Top 5 Factors Inﬂuencing Decisions to Partner

VARs Rank Agents

Partner’s technical support (52%) 1 Partner’s reputation (89%)

Partner’s understanding of my Quality of the partner’s products
business model (50%) 2 and services (81%)

(TIE) Quality of the partner’s
Partner’s pre-, post- and joint
products and services and
Partner’s reputation (49% each)
3 sales support (74%)

4 Partner’s technical support (67%)

Partner’s commitment to my Personal relationship with
proﬁtability and growth (48%) 5 the partner (56%)


Impact of Emerging Trends and New Business Models
While previous surveys have considered emerging technologies and delivery models
like cloud and managed services, the 2013 survey included a new question that
specifically asked about their impact on partnerships. The reason for the question was
anecdotal information about partnerships struggling as the services agents and VARs
offer become more competitive. As an example, would an agent’s cloud UC offer
compete with a VAR’s premises-based UC offer, creating conflict in the partnership?
While there may be isolated incidences of such conflict, the survey results showed
no tangible evidence of a widespread concern. In fact, it showed the opposite: agents
and VARs say emerging technologies have a “positive” or “very positive” impact on
partnerships. One possible reason for this goes back to the formalization of partnership;
agents and VARs increasingly set the ground rules for engaging with customers and
account control, avoiding potential conflicts. Indeed, 48 percent of agents and 28
percent of VARs said this formalization of agreements was an outcome.


Most agents (66 percent) and VARs (61 percent) said that new partnerships have
arisen from emerging technologies. Further 60 percent of agents and 49 percent of
VARs said more deals were won and more revenue was realized.
One scenario supporting these results is that some VARs are considering cloud-based
alternatives to their core offerings so as to not lose a sale altogether. In some cases
they are working in tandem with their telecom agent partners to deliver those through
a third-party provider. In others, they may in fact be the managed services or cloud
provider that the agent recommends.
The other dynamic at work here is competition from carriers themselves. As cloud
services become more prevalent, carriers such as AT&T and others are in a position to
deliver these solutions effectively — and directly — to customers. One way that telecom
agents and IT VARs can avoid disintermediation of this sort is to join forces to offer
more well-rounded solutions to customers that encompass a variety of technologies
and delivery types.

How Emerging Technologies and New Business Models Have Impacted Partnerships
18% 90% of VARs and
Very positively 70% of agents say
29%
emerging technologies
like cloud have a
52%
Positively positive impact on
61% partnerships.

24%
Not at all
9%

5% Agents
Negatively
0%

1% VARs
Very negatively
0%



Success Factors and
Priorities for Agent-VAR
Partnerships
Factors Influencing Success
Looking at the factors driving success of agent-VAR partnerships, agent respondents
once again overwhelmingly (73 percent) said that effective communications between
the agent and the VAR/dealer partner was the No. 1 factor. VAR’s pre-, post- and joint
sales support took the No. 2 spot. Leads, last year’s No. 2 factor, took the third spot in
2013. VARs’/dealers’ understanding of the agent business model remained important
with 47 percent citing it as a major factor.
The big change for agents year over year was in the influence of emerging
technologies and business models at No. 4 with 49 percent. This tracks with other data
from the survey that shows that emerging technologies have had a positive impact
on partnerships.
Meanwhile, VARs cited emerging technologies as the No. 2 factor influencing
success of partnerships for the second year in a row. This was tied with formal business
planning with the agent — again a sign of the increasing formalization of partnerships
and performance expectations.
No. 1 on the VARs’ list was the agent’s understanding of the VAR business model.
This tracks with other data in the survey that shows that agents are working
to compensate VARs in an upfront manner that better matches their cash flow
model. Effective communication moved down the list, but remained in the
top five with 44 percent; it was edged out of the No. 4 spot by government
regulation, which did not make an appearance on the 2012 list.
It can’t be underestimated how critical business model understanding
It can’t be
is to the success of these relationships. One of the main reasons that these
partnerships fray and fail is simply by not knowing how each other makes underestimated
money, structures their operations and sells to customers. Partners that have
how critical
taken the time to educate themselves in these fundamentals are making a
knowledge investment that sets the tone for a more successful partnership. To business model
get there necessitates effective communication, which agents heavily attribute
understanding is
to overall success rates in partnership.
to the success
of these
relationships.


Top 5 Factors Inﬂuencing Success of Partnerships in Last 12 Months

VARs Rank Agents

Partner’s understanding of
my business model (49%) 1 Effective communication (73%)

Formal business planning Partner’s pre-, post- and joint
with partner (48%) 2 sales support (54%)

Emerging technologies and
business models (48%) 3 Leads provided by partner (53%)

Government regulation Emerging technologies and
and compliance (46%) 4 business models (49%)

Partner’s understanding of
Effective communication (44%) 5 my business model (47%)


Expectations and Priorities
The themes of communication and formalized rules of engagement play into the
next set of data. Beginning with the 2012 survey, we sought to evaluate the success
of partnerships more closely, asking new questions about expectations and priorities
around partnerships over the last 12 months. Selecting from a list of 12 priorities, both
partner types indicated a concern over direct competition and the need for ground
rules. In 2013, those same concerns resurfaced about establishing roles and account
ownership. However, both groups also were concerned about the performance of the
partnership through setting sales strategy and/or revenue goals.

Top 3 Priorities for Partnerships

VARs Priority Agents

Establishing pre-and post-sales
Setting sales strategy (42%) 1 support roles (51%)

Setting sales revenue goals and
commitments (33%) 2 Setting sales strategy (46%)

(TIE) Establishing and protecting
Establishing and protecting
account ownership. Establishing rules
for interfacing with customers (27%)
3 account ownership (40%)



Thinking about these same 12 elements, partners picked the top three most difficult
to achieve. While their priorities lined up fairly well, agents’ and VARs’ assessment of
the difficulty was very different. Nearly a third of VARs, for example, said assigning
responsibility for bad debt was difficult to achieve while only 5 percent of agents
said the same. On the other side, 25 percent of agents said establishing project
management roles was difficult to achieve while only 4 percent of VARs thought so.
What may be more significant is the low percentages logged for each of these items,
such that none stands out as a major impediment to partnership success.

Top 3 Most Difﬁcult to Achieve Priorities for Partnerships

VARs Priority Agents

Setting sales strategy (what each Setting sales revenue
partner will sell) (30%) 1 goals/commitments (28%)

Assigning responsibility for Establishing rules for interfacing
bad debt/collections (29%) 2 with customers (27%)

Establishing project
Establishing exclusivity (28%) 3 management roles (25%)



The Future of Agent-VAR
Partnerships
Intentions to Partner
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, both agents and VARs are bullish about their
partnerships going forward. Specifically, more than four in five agents and two in five
VARs plan to add new partners while four in five agents and one in two VARs plan to
increase business with existing partners. VARs were more likely than agents to expect
no changes; two in five VARs said they would maintain the status quo. One in five
VARs plans to reduce business with existing partners and one in four agents plans
to drop partners. These changes are likely the result of a constant re-evaluation of
the effectiveness of partnerships and an effort to pour resources into the most
productive ones.
This routine evaluation process is not unlike the model that VARs employ when it
comes to their technology vendor partners. Some of the relationships are strategic,
some secondary or tactical, others simply one-off — but none of them is permanently
guaranteed. VARs constantly re-evaluate their vendor relationships on a number of
measures: revenue and opportunity, products, incentives, market trends and how they
are treated. The churn that ensues is only more active now that new models such as
cloud are changing the mix of players that are important to partner with, which is
driving more telecom relationships.

Agent-VAR Intentions to Partner in the Next 12 Months
84%
Plan to add Both agents and
new partners 42% VARs plan to add
partners or increase
Plan to increase 79% business with
business with existing partners.
existing partners 53%

3%
Plan to maintain
status quo 41%

Plan to reduce 2%
business with
existing partners 22%

24% Agents
Plan to drop
some partners 7%

2% VARs
Don’t know
2%



Not surprisingly, both agents and VARs expected revenue from their partnerships to
increase in the next 12 months. Two in three agents and one in two VARs expect their
revenue to increase significantly or somewhat in 2013. Three in 10 agents and four in
10 VARs expect revenue to stay the same. Few expected revenue declines.
While the majority of VARs (53 percent) expect to see revenue increase over the
coming 12 months from these partnerships, this represents a dip from last year, when
62 percent said they believed sales would jump. The number of agents expecting
increases also decreased year over year from 75 percent in 2012 to 65 percent in 2013.
Rather than see this as a negative, however, there is another possible explanation:
growing trust and familiarity. Consider the number of VARs and agents that expect
revenue from these relationships to remain the same: four in 10 VARs this year
versus three in 10 last year and three in 10 agents compared to two in 10 last year.
Those 10-point bumps in the status quo category might be further evidence that the
partnering relationships are solidifying and that there is trust developing among those
firms that have worked together now for years.

How Partnership Revenue Is Expected to Change in the Next 12 Months
30%
Increase signiﬁcantly 65% of agents and
17% 53% of VARs
expect revenue
35% from partnerships
Increase somewhat to increase
36%

29%
Stay the same
43%

4% Agents
Decrease somewhat
4%

0% VARs
Decrease signiﬁcantly
1%


Factors Influencing the Success of Partnerships
Going Forward
The factors that agents cited as most influencing the success of their future
partnerships are similar to those that they cited last year. Effective communication
between the agent and VAR partner was cited as the most important major factor by
81 percent again this year. Leads provided by the partner, a VAR’s understanding of
the agent business model and compensation remained major factors in the success of
agents’ partnerships in 2013. Pre-, post- and joint sales support snuck into the list in
the No. 2 spot, which was held last year by emerging technologies/business models
at 57 percent. This year, emerging technologies did not make agents’ top five success
factors for 2013 at 44 percent.


Interestingly, VARs put emerging technologies as their No. 1 factor influencing
success of partnerships in the next 12 months with 52 percent citing it as a major
factor. Effective communications moved down to the second spot with 46 percent
citing it as major factor. Compensation models tied effective communications for the
No. 2 spot. Rounding out the top five factors for VARs were sales incentives and agent’s
sales support — each cited as a major factor by 43 percent.
Agent’s understanding of the VAR business model was cited by fewer VARs
(42 percent) in 2013 than in 2012 (46 percent) and 2011 (60 percent), indicating that
agents may be demonstrating a better understanding of how a VAR business runs and
therefore making it less of an impediment to success going forward.

Factors Inﬂuencing Success of Partnerships in the Next 12 Months

VARs Rank Agents

Emerging technologies and
business models (52%) 1 Effective communication (81%)

(TIE) Effective communication and Partner’s pre-, post- and joint
Compensation model (46% each) 2 sales support (64%)

Partner’s understanding of my
3 business model (53%)

(TIE) Sales incentives and
Partner’s pre-, post- and joint
sales support (43% each)
4 Leads provided by partner (48%)

5 Compensation model (47%)



Conclusion
The industry is undergoing significant change that is impacting the channels of both
the IT and telecom worlds. Cloud computing, as just one example of a trend driver, has
sparked new partnerships among unlikely pairs while at the same time inviting new
and different types of competitors to the field.
Every company is trying to get an advantage. One differentiator comes in adding
new skills or capabilities to an existing portfolio, offering more to the customer from
a single source. The VARs and telecom agents in this study have discovered the merits
in aligning in this way. Partnerships of these sorts aren’t always easy, especially when
they are not formalized under a contract, and communications and accountability are
weak. So it’s encouraging that satisfaction levels with the partnerships over the last
year are as high as the data indicate. The data suggest that partnerships have grown
more formalized this past year, with more accountability and structure, two major
factors behind success ultimately. In the years ahead, the roles of IT distributors and
master agents in terms of training and facilitating more partnerships between VARs
and telecom agents is likely to emerge as well.
Looking ahead, the success of these partnerships will likely hinge on many of the
factors cited by the respondents: good communications, an understanding of one
another’s business model and strategies for collectively tapping into emerging models
such as cloud.


About
The Research
The CompTIA-Channel Partners Agent-VAR Partnering survey was conducted in
January 2013 based on 2012 performance. There were approximately 100 respondents
of each partner type — agent and VAR — to two separate surveys.
The agent respondents to the 2013 survey were 52 percent independent agents or
subagents and 31 percent master agents. Another 17 percent identified themselves as
“consultants.” As in the 2012 survey most of the respondents were small businesses;
79 percent reported total gross revenue of less than $5 million. Similarly, most
respondents (82 percent) focused on small and medium business customers.
The IT VAR respondents to the 2013 survey included 19 percent MSPs, 19 percent
IT vendors, 14 percent systems integrators and 16 percent retailers and 11 percent
resellers. Most came from smaller businesses: 53 percent with up to $9.9 million
in revenue, with another 31 percent with $10 million to $49.9 million. In a change
from last year, more larger companies were represented; 15 percent of respondents
reported being more than $50 million in annual revenue. Their average customer base
was evenly balanced across small, medium and large clients.

The Authors
Carolyn April, director of industry analysis for CompTIA, joined the organization in
April 2010 as director of industry analysis after serving as editor for Channel Insider,
a publication focused on news, information and resources for IT resellers and system
integrators. Prior to that, April was a principal analyst for the Institute for the Partner
Education & Development (IPED) and served as executive editor of VAR Business, an
award-winning IT channel print and online publication, and Redmond Magazine,
which covers Microsoft technologies and the Microsoft user ecosystem. She also
worked in editorial positions for InfoWorld and for daily and weekly newspapers
in Massachusetts.

Khali Henderson is editor-in-chief of Channel Partners, a leading media brand in
VIRGO Publishing’s Communications Network. Henderson has more than 20 years of
experience in journalism, covering the communications and IT sectors, including its
technology and channels. She has been contributing to Channel Partners as a reporter,
editor and freelance writer since 1988 and has been its editor-in-chief since 1998.
Henderson’s career also includes seven years in public relations during which time
her client list included the Telecommunications Resellers Association (now COMPTEL).
She has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School
of Journalism.


CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. Its members
are the companies at the forefront of innovation and the professionals responsible for
maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology.
CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs,
market research, networking events, professional certifications and public policy
advocacy. For more information, visitcomptia.org or follow CompTIA on Twitter at
twitter.com/comptia.

Channel Partners
Channel Partners magazine is the leading publication for telecom and IT distribution
channels. For more than 25 years, Channel Partners has been the undisputed leader
in providing news, analysis and education to the indirect sales channels serving the
business technology and communications industry. In addition, Channel Partners
online (channelpartnersonline.com) delivers a constant content stream of unique and
breaking industry news, feature articles and premium downloadable content. As official
media of the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, (channelpartnersconference.com),
Channel Partners is the market leader that channel professionals turn to first.


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