Technology Aggregation Can Be a Bitter Pill to Swallow for Partners

There’s a reason why partners may not embrace efforts to consolidate digital services into vendor-led platforms.
By T.C. Doyle

Nearly every vendor that Channelnomics talks with today has its heart set on developing a platform for the delivery of anything-as-a-service (XaaS).

Platforms are easy to use, lucrative to own, and hardy enough to weather bad times. Platform companies have higher valuations, a greater likelihood of scaling globally, and better opportunities for achieving hypergrowth. That’s why everyone in tech (almost) loves a good platform.

Channel partners, though, charge customers hefty fees for integrating and administering various digital services, so they don’t view technology aggregation into platforms with the same universal zeal that vendors do — and for good reason. Simplifying technologies into holistic delivery platforms threatens the revenue streams that c...