While uncertainty swirls in the channel around macroeconomic trends and private equity investment, many technology advisor partners see plentiful growth ahead.

The technology advisor (agent) model for B2B technology purchasing continues to gain traction among end users. More and more end users are demanding as-a-service, opex technologies that advisors sell. More customers are also seeing the value and flexibility of the deep technology portfolio agents (and their tech services distributor partners) offer.

And vendors are replicating that adoption.

C3’s Matthew Toth

“When we started 14-and-a-half years ago, there were maybe 30 or 40 companies selling through the channel,” C3 Technology Advisors founder and president Matthew Toth told Channel Futures. “Today, there are at least 500 through the various TSDs we work with today.”

The channel does face its challenges, however, as the larger U.S. economy worsens. Although supply chain issues appear to have hit hardware-oriented resellers much harder, many agents report that recessionary pressures are influencing certain vendors to engage in unfriendly sales tactics. In addition, independently held agents are weighing their ability to compete against the so-called superagents. With those trends in mind, the latest Channel Futures quarterly agent survey saw a noticeable drop from in partners describing the industry’s health as “excellent” or “good.”

IQ Wired’s Darcee Nelan

Talking About It

Rise Technology’s Eric Ludwig

A panel of partners will discuss these topics at the upcoming Channel Partners Conference & Expo. The “State of the Agent Market” panel will feature Toth, IQ Wired CEO Darcee Nelan, Kairos Data Communications chief revenue officer and partner Lucas Salvage, and co-founder at RISE Technology Advisors, Eric Ludwig.

Channel Futures chatted with Nelan, Ludwig and Toth about what they’re seeing in the industry and in their own businesses. They shared their thoughts on consolidation among agents, generational shifts and changing customer needs.

Read the interview transcript in the slides above.