Stability, continuity, predictability – they are the three pillars of any successful partnership.
In the channel, smart value-added resellers rightly look for those qualities in the vendors with which they align. After all, how can they place them at the heart of their own offer if they are absent from the wholesale relationship on which they themselves depend?
Assessing their presence can, of course, be a subjective business. Does stability mean long-established? Does continuity mean a roadmap exists but that it is missing disruptive ambition? And is predictability about a dependable yet unexciting future?
Thankfully, there is one lens through which outsiders are able to obtain an all-round effective impression of a potential partner: culture.
So much more so than product functionality, reliability or price, culture – particularly as it relates to its own employees - can be a potent indicator of the other, equally-valuable characteristics of a business: its values.
In short, a vendor which puts its own people at the heart of everything is likely to bring high levels of mutuality, understanding, and support to its partner relationships. And when that happens, it often spells success for all parties.
“Business is ultimately about people - when employees feel valued and part of a team, a culture and a workplace atmosphere is created which can result in a hugely positive ripple effect,” says Stephen Glaister, Channel Development Manager at leading UK-based hosted telephony provider NTA, which has recently announced that it has become an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT); enabling existing and future employees to become part-owners of the company, receive annual bonuses, and benefit from any future sale.
“It fosters a feeling that we are all in it together; driving forward towards the same common aim and knowing that we are only successful as a group if each of us contributes positively. I believe our reseller partners have always known that we are a vendor that brings something extra to the table but I am now certain that they will feel it a lot more.”
