Channel Re-Imagined

Artificial intelligence has moved beyond experimentation in the channel as it’s reshaping how partners onboard, sell and support customers.

It's now embedded into partner operations, from automating on boarding to delivering predictive insights.  Partners who embrace AI are creating faster, more efficient, and more responsive customer experiences. But do you know which of your partners is leading in this space? Which are using AI to gain an advantage, and which are still holding back?

How AI is Transforming Partner Engagement

AI is changing three areas in particular:

• Onboarding and Enablement: Partners can be activated and trained at scale with AI-driven platforms.
• Sales and Co-Sell: Predictive recommendations surface opportunities for joint selling and cross-sell.
• Customer Support and Observability: AI tools enhance diagnostics, improving customer satisfaction.

Partners who adopt these capabilities are creating stronger margins and deeper customer trust.

The Visibility Challenge

Vendors need to know where AI is making an impact. Without visibility, they risk missing out on the value being created in their own ecosystem. Some partners are already using AI to promote competitor solutions more effectively than yours. Are you aware of who they are?

Enabling and Scaling AI Maturity

The opportunity lies in identifying which partners have AI maturity and enabling others to follow. Bench-marking partner ecosystems against AI capability provides clarity on where to invest and where to intervene.

For channel leaders, this is not about chasing hype. It is about building ecosystems that reflect how technology is being delivered today. 

The Bottom Line

AI is not a future trend, it is a present reality. Vendors who understand how their partners are applying it will create ecosystems that are more competitive, more resilient, and more valuable.

As plans are being drawn up to deliver 2026 strategies, the question is simple: do you really know what your partners are doing for you? If you can’t answer with confidence, your biggest opportunity lies in making data the cornerstone of your channel strategy.

The good news is you don’t need to wait or build complex systems to get there, it’s available, ready to go, and delivered as a service, complete with SLAs and there’s no additional overhead or infrastructure required.