Tech Advisors Saw Staff Growth, Channel Conflict in Q1

Although tech advisors face increasing sales conflict from vendors and pressures to grow their teams, partners continue to see sales growth in network, UCaaS, cybersecurity and many other technologies.

That assertion comes from Channel Futures’ Q1 Agent Sentiment survey. A field of 36 partners, each of which belongs to the technology advisor/agent model, answered questions about how their businesses are growing and how they feel about the channel. According to the survey, tech advisors see plenty of opportunity in front of them. Fifty-eight percent of agents reported a “good” level of confidence in the health of the industry. Another 11% called their confidence “excellent.”

For a second straight quarter, tech advisors were split on whether they see customer spending going up or down. More than one-third (36%) of partners said customers were more willing to buy technology than in the quarter a year ago. But 39% said appetite had stayed the same, and 25% said it decreased.

Tech advisors, more colloquially known by their vendor partners as agents, typically rely on vendors for end-user billing and managed services, while collecting residual commissions from the vendors they source.

Growth

The Q1 survey of tech advisors showed that partner are getting larger. Forty-four percent of technology advisors grew their headcounts in the first quarter, while none decreased their headcounts.

That statistic rang true for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Opkalla, which grew its team by approximately 20% in the first quarter. But managing partner Jim Campbell said he sees some of his peers are challenged to keep staff.

Opkalla’s Jim Campbell

“Industry-wide I have started to see more talent looking to transition, which is surprising considering what’s going on with the economy. I would have expected more people to stay conservative and not look elsewhere,” Campbell told Channel Futures.

Respondents most commonly selected “recruiting and retaining talent” as the biggest challenge they face, alongside “industry consolidation.”

“For Opkalla, our biggest challenge or opportunity is responsibly growing the company,” Campbell told Channel Futures. “Investing in the right people and the right go-to-market strategy. It’s easy to get distracted with how fast the industry is moving, so the balance between the 12-18 month vision versus what we need to do well today is top of mind.”

Technology Portfolio

The latest survey shows sales growth across multiple technology segments for tech advisors.

The image below shows the breakdown of how tech sales changed year-over-year, merging together slight and significant increases/decreases.

Source: Q1 Channel Futures Agent Sentiment Survey

WAN and connectivity showed both growth and regression. A total of 27% of tech advisors said WAN/connectivity sales decreased year-over-year, with only …