AT&T partners are in prime position to help their customers adopt IoT solutions as 5G drives a new wave of connected devices.

AT&T’s Stacey Marx

So says Stacey Marx, senior vice president and channel chief at AT&T Partner Solutions. Marx replaced Zee Hussain earlier this year and continues to lead the company’s main channel efforts. She conducted a lengthy “listening tour” across the U.S. to hear from partners about trends, goals and pain points.

“My goal this year and beyond is not only to keep that momentum from last year going, but to build on it and deliver the best indirect experience in the industry,” Marx said. “We really want our partners to know that first and foremost, we are more dedicated to the channel than ever, and our commitment has not gone away.”

AT&T Partner Solutions (APS) reported a 78% revenue increase from 2017 to 2018, after successfully realigning its three main channel programs under the APS umbrella.

Marx said she and her team are working to use best practices across all three channels and help partners maximize AT&T’s offerings. AT&T Partner Solutions recently launched a unified partner solutions webpage featuring the ACC Business, AT&T Partner Exchange and AT&T Alliance Channel. Partner Exchange refreshed its portal and expanded access to marketing and training resources.

Marx also credited Steve Pasmanik for helping AT&T upgrade its pre- and post-sale support. Pasmanik joined AT&T Partner Solutions more than a year ago to serve as AVP of technology. He has helped develop new service programs, dedicated back-office project support and white-glove order management. APS also is reporting a generally faster installation process, according to Marx. She said all of these changes serve to make partners more self-sufficient.

AT&T and its channel are marching in a “continuum” toward 5G in the meantime. AT&T has launched its mmWave 5G wave network in parts of 21 major U.S. cities and has been running trials with business customers to see how specific industries can benefit from 5G.

5G will ultimately impact how all businesses participate in the economy, according to Marx. She said increased spectrum efficiency, faster speeds and lower latency will lead to “massive IoT growth.” And most of that growth will occur in the business world.

Enter channel partners.

“Companies will need more and more partners that can understand their needs and customize solutions,” she said. “We’re in a winning situation because the solution providers have the relationships and understand their customers. They have the resources and skills that our customers are really needing.”

Marx and her predecessor, Zee Hussain, detailed several new solutions and tools back in April.

AT&T announced an open-source partnership with Dell Technologies earlier this month. The two will “combine best practices” to help service providers develop edge computing and 5G services.