Software Channel Survey Results - download now!

As you know, we’ve done a survey on how the crisis is impacting the channel distribution in the software industry. We’ve looked at the results and – although not statistically representative (survey conducted on the internet on a self-selected sample)-, they make an interesting reading, showing some trends and providing tips & solutions for channel challenges.

Frankly, I was (pleasantly) surprised to see how much weight both ISVs and resellers give to joint marketing programs, measuring, efficiency, communication…  obviously no one can afford to pay lip service to these actions, they are for real.

Encouragingly enough, vendors and resellers acknowledge the same top channel challenges and consider similar solutions for tackling problems.

How can one get a channel distribution as conflict free as possible, that generates both online and offline software sales and in the end it makes everybody involved happy – resellers, distributors, affiliates and vendors?

First of all, in case you are wondering why am I writing about selling software offline on an eCommerce provider blog, well, it’s because unlike other providers,  we also have ARMS (Avangate Reseller Management System) – a standalone Partner Relationship Manager system.

I will try to keep it short (I’m running out of coffee) and not write about ARMS (ARMS does this and ARMS that. You can read this on our website anyway).

At a first glance, online sales and channel distribution are competing over the same customers so I want to focus here on when is good to use offline resellers and distributors, potential conflicts with online sales and give you an article to read about solutions to these conflicts.