The Big Themes:

• Microsoft has said that for every $1 of software they sell, partners make $9: The opportunity for channel partners in this time of cloud growth is huge.
• It should mirror the customer base: Software vendors should make it easy for customers to know who their partners are.
• Effective onboarding and training programs: These ensure that partners have the domain expertise to work any given software and ongoing programs.
• A level playing field: Not cherry-picking partners for customers based upon name brand or because they fund the top sponsorships.

The Big Quotes:

• “This is really a summary of the last three years of research.”
• “Just because somebody was great one year doesn't mean that they're going to be great the following year.”

This episode is brought to you by BMC Software.