Analysts have huge influence on the PARTNERS ecosystem. hear from five (ex-)analysts how Can B2b tech vendors can leverage them to drive channel sales?
B2B buying is a sales spaghetti monster of intersecting influences, tangled relationships and feedback loops. And nowhere is that complexity more visible than in the channel. Software, hardware and generally technology vendors work with a complex ecosystem of distributors, resellers, service providers and marketplaces –each with their own incentives and blind spots. Those tech vendors agonise over which partners to prioritise, how to allocate limited marketing dollars, how to manage conflicts and compensation. It’s messy.
Yet, amid all that complexity, there’s an unseen force shaping how the channel works: industry analysts. Analysts don’t just influence vendor strategy or buyer perception, they quietly guide how the channel operates. From data visibility and partner enablement to program design and education. Most vendors underestimate just how deep that influence runs. Starsight has interviewed several (ex-)analysts and here are 4 ways this analyst influence on the channel shows up.
Read below from Channel Scaler, Omdia, GigaOm, CONTEXT and IDC on how B2B vendors can leverage industry analysts to get insights on the channel, better position themselves and use them to improve their market traction.
1. Analysts bring data clarity to a messy channel ecosystem.
The channel runs on data. Pricing, volume, margins, partner performance; but most vendors only see fragments of it. Number crunching analyst firms like Canalys (now part of Omdia), CONTEXT and IDC collect the missing pieces, aggregating multi-vendor sales and pricing data from distributors and resellers to map the entire ecosystem. Rachel Brindley / Omdia explains how “Over 70% of the USD 5.35 trillion global IT and telecoms market goes through, to or with the partner ecosystem. Our expertise helps vendors understand and quantify partner influence in their businesses.” “We eliminate the channel blind spot,” says Alexandre Mesguich / CONTEXT. “Vendors no longer spend time verifying opinions but focus on executing based on factual information.”
By comparing themselves against competitors, vendors can benchmark performance, refine pricing and allocate resources more intelligently. As Stuart Wilson / IDC puts it, “IDC brings clarity to this chaos, helping vendors allocate resources wisely and navigate the fast-changing landscape of ecosystem-led growth.” Analysts like these transform fragmented information into something vendors and partners can act on.
2. Analysts give partners a trusted third-party voice.
Partners rarely tell vendors what they really think. There’s too much at stake; contracts, incentives and future business all depend on keeping the relationship smooth. Analysts act as an independent conduit, surfacing the partner voice without politics or defensiveness. “Partners are often reluctant to give candid input directly to vendors,” says Margaret Adam / Channel Scaler. “As an independent voice, analysts can collect and surface that feedback in a constructive way.”
That role is crucial when vendors want to know whether their programs, incentives, or tools are actually working. At Omdia, they can access the Candefero channel partner community of over 20,000 members (previously under Canalys), to assess and quantify partner priorities, attitudes and sentiment. Analyst firms can also run structured partner interviews, gather sentiment data via surveys and benchmark engagement maturity. This helps vendors see where friction exists, in onboarding, deal registration or partner portals, and understand what really drives loyalty and performance. In other words, analysts don’t just interpret the market, they translate the partner mindset, bridging a trust gap that no amount of internal surveying can fill.
3. Analysts enable partner success through validation and education.
Analyst influence doesn’t stop at strategy. That’s why Omdia has continued the Canalys Forums, which attract around 3,000 attendees. “The value of the Canalys Forums is in uniting the global partner ecosystem across EMEA, Americas, and APAC,” says Rachel Brindley / Omdia. “Senior leaders in the channels community come together to hear insights from Omdia analysts, as well as those from multiple vendors and partners (unlike vendor-owned events).” And increasingly, vendors use analysts to enable their partners. As Jon Collins / GigaOm explains, “Engagement with the channel is about ensuring the vendor’s strengths are understood by every stakeholder group. Analysts smooth the way to success by making that value clear to all parties.”
Analyst validation carries weight. A partner is far more likely to believe an analyst-backed message than a vendor pitch. Starsight’s take is that analyst-driven enablement is one of the smartest uses of joint marketing funds a vendor can make. Vendors can use analysts to educate partners through whitepapers, ROI tools, roundtables and conference sessions. This makes analysts powerful enablers. They add authority and clarity to partner education, positioning and even co-marketing campaigns.
4. Analysts shape how vendors evolve their channel strategy.
Analysts often play a direct role in shaping channel strategy. Margaret Adam / Channel Scaler describes working with vendors pre-launch to validate partner programs or incentive structures –catching issues before they reach the market. Others, like IDC with DataCore, act as independent evaluators of partner engagement frameworks, interviewing stakeholders and running competitive analyses to guide execution.
This collaboration between GigaOm and Ingram Micro shows how deep that influence can run. Ingram Micro used GigaOm’s independent research to frame its shift from product distribution to cloud-centric ecosystems, using analyst validation to refine its messaging and partner engagement strategy. That external lens helped align its transformation story to market realities –and gave partners a clearer sense of where Ingram Micro was heading.
Key takeaway: analysts channel their influence throughout the b2b tech ecosystem.
Analysts have a unique market vantage point that means they can shape sales channels from every angle:
- B2B tech vendors look to them for insight and validation.
- Partners such as SI’s and VAR’s rely on their credibility and market interpretation.
- Technology buyers encounter their influence through trusted research and recommendations.
Analysts are a prime source of truth for all those stakeholders. Yet most vendors still treat analysts as part of the marketing or communications function, rather than the operational backbone they truly are. The reality is this: analysts influence which partners vendors work with, how they enable them, what pricing structures look like and how those partners engage customers. Their fingerprints are already all over your channel –from sales velocity to partner satisfaction.
Thank you to the the following contributors who took time to answer our questions for this blog post.
- Margaret Adam / Director Product and Partner Marketing, Channel Scaler.
- Rachel Brindley / Senior Director, Channels, Omdia.
- Jon Collins / VP of Engagement, GigaOm.
- Alexandre Mesguich / Strategic New Business Development, CONTEXT.
- Stuart Wilson / Research Director, European Partnering Ecosystems, IDC.
Read the latest Starsight Transmissions.
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