https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

New/Changing Channel Programs


Tech Support Providers: The Rodney Dangerfields of the IT Channel

  • Written by Beth Vanni 1
  • June 18, 2012
You’ll probably remember the disheveled comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, and his litany of “I get no respect” jokes.  One of my favorites – “My parents gave me no respect;  my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.” Or, “I haven’t spoken with my wife in years.

You’ll probably remember the disheveled comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, and his litany of “I get no respect” jokes.  One of my favorites – “My parents gave me no respect;  my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.” Or, “I haven’t spoken with my wife in years. I didn’t want to interrupt her.” In the world of channel partners and functions, solution providers offering tier 1 technical support are not only under-valued, but increasingly rare. And, cloud services and applications are just furthering that “get no respect” situation.

I know I’m dating myself with this comment, but in the mid 80’s, authorized resellers did it all. They found the deal, they scoped and configured it, they transacted it, they performed whatever post-sale implementation services were required and they often also provided first-line technical support. That’s just what the software publishers, and to a lesser degree the hardware manufacturers, of that decade required. There weren’t 50,000 VARs in the average channel program, and the ones in the program were expected to provide end-to-end services and acts as the face of the IT vendor to their customers. If you didn’t provide adequate services and weren’t driving “net-new” business to a large degree, you were de-authorized from the vendor’s program.  It was that simple.

Today’s IT Channel Reality

Fast-forward 25 years. Today, there are IT solution providers of a wide variety of business models becoming more and more specialized in their roles. Some only provide sales influence. Others only offer managed services. And many only deliver professional services, uninterested in the mechanics (and sometime profitability drains) of transacting the gear or license. In that functional flow, the basic business proposition of providing first and sometimes second-line technical support seems to have become passé. Granted, the technologies have become infinitely more complex and technically interdependent with other parts of the vendor’s portfolios. And, the degree to which APIs and development code have become standardized allows a high degree of technology customization, making it harder to provide standard technical support.

Challenging Times

It’s a little depressing to me, however, that the average solution provider/vendor relationship doesn’t focus much anymore on the partners’ ability to provide a level of personalized, accessible first line support. There are three things driving that change:

  1. The technical complexity and breadth of products on the market from the major platform vendors;
  2. the need to scale a consistent level of technical support across a much broader IT global user community; and
  3. the intense cost-containment and efficiency metrics driving the operations of many vendors.

Accelerating costs is a market reality, but the degree to which vendors have outsourced their technical support to a central call center, often somewhere in India, is creating a fragmented and less personal customer experience. In our 2011 study entitled “Engaging the Services Partner” we found it interesting that although both the vendor and partner had end-user satisfaction as their #1 metric for service delivery success, solution providers wanted it more. Some 89% of solution providers ranked happy customers as their first objective, while only 55% of vendors did. Which his ironic, because increasingly vendors are insisting on providing all levels of technical support directly to customers and are not interested in spending their enablement resources or service contract discounts on partners to help scale their support.

From the many solution providers we talk to, they are more interested than ever in maintaining customer insights, control and satisfaction by providing support. And, they’re willing to adhere to the vendor’s standards and infrastructure investments to do so (within reason). However, the vendors, other than by exception, would rather the partners nearly exclusively focus on sales activity – new customers, new projects, new cross-sell of technologies – than be focused on support satisfaction.

All I know is that I’d still prefer to call my solution provider when I have support needs for Office 365, rather than sitting on hold with Microsoft. And, we’re willing to pay more to our solution provider for that very high-touch, quick-access support.

Aren’t’ you?

So, if you’re a solution provider feeling like your leading vendors have left a business opportunity for you and a customer service opportunity for the end-user on the table by not encouraging you to provide support services, just remember what Rodney Dangerfield said. “If you think you’re crazy, just tell your psychiatrist you need a second opinion.  He’ll tell you you’re ugly too!”

For more information on the exclusive channel research focused on engaging the services-based partner, visit our Resource Center at www.partner-path.com.

Beth Vanni is VP of PartnerPath, which helps IT vendors elevate the impact of their partnering efforts. For more information on PartnerPath’s research or partnering development services, contact Beth at bvanni@partner-path.com.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs New/Changing Channel Programs Strategy

Related


  • SMB cybersecurity
    Top MSPs on Avoiding the Next SolarWinds Hack, Best Preparing Security Clients
    Building on our MSPs’ ongoing cybersecurity flags, we checked back in to get a deeper sense of their concerns.
  • Convergence
    Convergence in the Channel: Is It Happening, and What Does This Mean for MSPs?
    Is IT-telecom channel convergence already happening? Do the two speak the same language? We explore the different sides.
  • Evolution of Man
    Frank Rauch: Check Point Partner Program Evolving Since 2020
    Working with Microsoft is giving Check Point and its partners a competitive advantage, says channel chief Frank Rauch.
  • Online Survey
    Cisco Survey Reveals the Biggest Challenges for Global IT Teams
    It's no understatement that the work-from-home phenomenon has been a challenge like no other for IT professionals.

5 comments

  1. Avatar Cedric June 19, 2012 @ 5:43 pm
    Reply

    Loved it!

  2. Avatar Thomas June 19, 2012 @ 9:40 pm
    Reply

    I know a lot of people having problems with tech support at most OEMs. It’s like ring around the rosey. most will say there is nothing they can do and won’t esculated the problem to someone who does. If there is someone who does.

  3. Avatar The VAR Guy June 20, 2012 @ 2:26 am
    Reply

    Cedric, Thomas: Beth Vanni has raised a healthy debate here. And the debate has also raged on The VAR Guy’s sister site, MSPmentor. Some MSPs are betting their entire companies on help desk services that reveal customers’ future needs. Others are outsourcing to help desk providers and NOC providers.

    The debate seems never-ending.
    -TVG

  4. Avatar Tech Support Providers: The Rodney Dangerfields of the IT Ch August 6, 2012 @ 5:15 pm
    Reply

    […] her.” In the world of channel partners and functions, solution providers offering tier 1 technical support are not only under-valued, but increasingly rare. And, cloud services and applications are just […]

  5. Avatar Rocky Rock September 28, 2012 @ 4:50 pm
    Reply

    I know many people having troubles with tech support. It’s similar to ring around. Some month after I visited a website and called this is number :- 02080999163 this web site (PC web work ) gives my best services in time.
    Tech Support Services UK

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Oracle Gives Cloud Migration a ‘Lift’; Plus, Update Carbon Black Now
  • AireSpring Partners Get Additional Support from Axis, Star2Star, TPx Vets
  • Viptela Co-Founders Launch Prosimo, Raise $25 Million
  • Ensono Heralds ‘Turning Point’ with Acquisition of Cloud-Native Consultancy Amido

Galleries

View all

10 Ways to Keep Customers Safe with Threat Protection by Year’s End

April 9, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Why Every MSP Should Consider TCO When Selecting a BCDR Solution

April 9, 2021

6 Ways to Ready Your Customers for 5G Security Challenges

April 5, 2021

Endpoint Security Is Huge in the Merging New World of Work

April 2, 2021

Webinars

View all

Top 3 Intel Security Technologies To Help Against Advanced Cybercrime Attacks

April 15, 2021

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

White Papers

View all

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Top Tips: Optimize Your Microsoft 365 Investment with Rackspace Technology

March 30, 2021

The Smart Approach to Cloud Workload Placement Decisions

March 19, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

2021 Excellence in Digital Services Awards App Open

December 9, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

"Who could ask for more?? These guys bring an awesome energy and always highlight the need-to-know of the channel..… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 10, 2021
ChannelFutures

Anti-Asian racism, and racism and discrimination of all forms, have zero place in our society. #StopAsianHate and t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

MSSP @inc_renaissance promotes Trish Kapos to channel chief. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxLQ6g https://t.co/oWCdHeRqIW

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@GetSpectrum ordered to pay @Windstream more than $19 million for deceptive mailer. #lawsuit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Percona says channel can help with #opensource solutions and #databases for everything from aspirational to must-… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

Our latest #Cybersecurity Roundup features @HuntressLabs on @Microsoft Exchange exploitation, @ptsecurity,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@SemperisTech unveils first branded partner program. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxH4Bq https://t.co/TVjG8xhGNv

April 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@PerchSecurity announces its 2021 MSP Threat Report, calling on MSPs to build a mature cybersecurity practice.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 8, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X