Partners today face geopolitical issues, currency fluctuations, inflationary pressure, supply chain issues, skills shortages and ongoing business disruption due to COVID-19.

As such, a quarter of partners see ‘a big impact’ on customer spending, with investments concentrated just on core IT priorities. The same number say their profits are going to be hit hard by rising costs in 2022, according to Canalys figures.

Business resiliency has become a must-have for the channel.

IDC’s Stuart Wilson

“Partners have become more aware of their own business resiliency as they face a range of challenges,” said Stuart Wilson, senior research director, EMEA partnering ecosystems, IDC.

These challenges have left partners asking how they can build greater business resiliency.

Wilson said that partner resiliency is increasingly viewed as a function related to four areas. These are digital maturity and portfolio; activity mix and revenue streams; customer base, and financial position.

“Highly resilient partners are frequently characterized by strong recurring revenue streams, an emphasis on customer success and clear differentiation within the wider partner ecosystem.”

High Levels of ‘Pivotability’

Wilson said that successful partners will demonstrate high levels of ‘pivotability’. They achieve this by creating “flexible organizational structures that can evolve quickly and spin up new services and solutions to respond rapidly to changing customer needs.

“Ecosystem participation can provide a route to enhanced partner resilience,” he said. “The notion of shared risk through joint value creation is becoming more attractive to many partners. Successful partners evolve rapidly and possess an innovation velocity that allows them to engage with new delivery models and create deeper customer relationships.”