ASK CHANNELNOMICS: How Quickly Can Vendors Establish Prolific GSI Relationships?

Building partnerships with GSIs takes time, investment, and effort, but the returns are often worth the wait.

At Channelnomics, we field questions about best practices, partner strategies, and channel programs every day. In this series, called “Ask Channelnomics,” we answer some of the questions we receive most from vendors.

Question: My management team wants to work with global systems integrators (GSIs) to generate incremental revenue. They’ve given me the task of developing these relationships, and they’re expecting immediate results. How long does it typically take to establish revenue-producing relationships with a GSI?

Answer: Establishing a revenue-producing relationship with GSIs generally takes 12 to 24 months. While opportunistic deals can happen faster, building a sustainable, strategic partnership requires a significant investment of time and resources.

GSIs are a rarefied bunch, and while there’s tremendous revenue potential in working with them, cold starts rarely yield fast returns. The path to success depends more on relationship-building and aligning with their go-to-market strategies than having attractive products or incentives.

Short-term revenue (within weeks or a quarter) is possible but usually stems from tactical circumstances rather than strategic partnerships. For example, a GSI might engage when it has an immediate customer need for your specific solution, or when a client explicitly requests your product. However, these opportunistic deals, while valuable, don’t automatically translate into lasting partnerships.

GSIs operate differently from traditional resellers and integrators. Their primary focus is on their technology practices and customer engagement models. Success requires you to do one of the following:

• Integrate seamlessly with the GSI’s existing go-to-market strategy
• Demonstrate how your solution accelerates its customer deployments
• Provide unique capabilities that enhance its practice offerings

Development of the partnership typically follows this progression:

1. 1. Building brand awareness within relevant GSI practices (3 to 6 months)
   2. Developing relationships with practice leaders (6 to 12 months)
   3. Validating technology and aligning the solution (3 to 6 months)
   4. Developing the first joint opportunity (3 to 6 months)
   5. Closing and executing the deal (3 to 6 months)

To demonstrate value to GSI practices, focus on:

• Helping them reduce delivery time and costs for customer implementations
• Offering unique intellectual property or capabilities that differentiate their practices
• Providing resources and support that enhance their delivery capabilities

When starting your GSI program, maintain management support by:

• Setting realistic timeline expectations up-front
• Establishing and tracking relationship milestones
• Reporting on leading indicators like technical validations, joint planning sessions, and pipeline development
• Highlighting industry examples of successful GSI partnerships

One Channelnomics client reported that while it took two years to close its first GSI deal, that single opportunity yielded over $2 million in total contract value. This illustrates both the extended development cycle and the potential magnitude of returns.

To maintain momentum during the development period, create a structured engagement plan with clear milestones and regular executive updates. While your management team may desire immediate returns, help them understand that these relationships, when properly developed, can become significant revenue multipliers for your business. Focus on demonstrating progressive relationship development rather than solely measuring success by closed deals in the early stages.

Remember, GSIs invest in relationships that enhance their practice capabilities and customer value proposition. By aligning your engagement strategy with their business model and maintaining consistent, value-focused engagement, you can build partnerships that deliver substantial long-term returns.

Do you have a question for Channelnomics? Send it to info@channelnomics.com.

Check out other Ask Channelnomics installments in the Channelnomics Insights section.