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The Five CDC Stages

Fledgling - Evaluate The ROI Of Partnering

Has several of these characteristics:

1. •   Encased in a "we don’t know the true value of Partnering" situation
   

2. •   Less than 10% of revenues are driven by Partners
   

3. •   A few 'strategic' Partners - limited programmatic engagement
   

4. •   Limited effort to prepare the Partners to engage with the market
   

5. •   No senior executive chartered with developing Channels
   

Facing several of these pain points:

1. •   Entire organization if focused on growing top line revenues faster
   

2. •   Potentially a new or unproven technology with limited market validation, product adoption and customer reach
   

3. •   Facing strong competition from typically larger organizations
   

4. •   Limited internal agreement on the value Partnership can bring
   

5. •   Difficulty changing internal mindset from direct (always done it that way) to indirect
   

6. •   Limited Channel-experienced staff to plan or execute
   

Receptive - Engage And Empower Partners

Has several of these characteristics:

1. •   Someone in the organization has decided to develop Partnerships – conflicting executive vision
   

2. •   Between 10 – 30% of revenues are driven by Partners
   

3. •   A handful of Partners – not really producing
   

4. •   Divergent commitment of senior leadership – regional independence
   

5. •   No dedicated Channel executive
   

Facing several of these pain points:

1. •   Limited resources to grow market share
   

2. •   Growing conflict between Partners and direct teams (sales and/or services)
   

3. •   Ad hoc Partner enablement initiatives
   

4. •   Insufficient resources to support expected Partner growth
   

5. •   Unclear Partner performance expectations and tracking

Proficient - Reduce Channel Conflict

Has several of these characteristics:

1. •   A significant number of Partners are producing sales volume
   

2. •   Between 30 - 50% of revenues are driven by Partners
   

3. •   Divergent expectations of senior leadership
   

4. •   Regional Channel executives in place
   

Facing several of these pain points:

1. •   Experiencing a high degree of Channel conflict (direct to Partner or Partner to Partner)
   

2. •   Unclear on ROI of Channel spending
   

3. •   Separate program structures (by BU, geographies, services) causing complexity
   

4. •   Engaging a limited number Partner types (VAR, distributors, LAR, SI, MSP, etc.)
   

5. •   Inconsistent internal and external Partner communications
   

Actualized - Operationalize Partnering

Has several of these characteristics:

1. •   Have moved from rewarding primarily volume sales, to rewarding the value Partners bring
   

2. •   Between 50 - 80% of revenues are driven by Partners
   

3. •   Senior leadership is aligned in Partnering vision and execution
   

4. •   Global Channel executive in place
   

Facing several of these pain points:

1. •   Misaligned Channel coverage (gaps and over-distribution in regions and verticals)
   

2. •   M&A activity has created a broad line card and wide Partner ecosystem (not cross-selling)
   

3. •   Poor solution selling capabilities
   

4. •   Partner profitability and satisfaction is waning
   

5. •   Lots of disparate Partner management systems
   

Focal - Optimize Organizational Impact

Has several of these characteristics:

1. •   Partnerships have a significant impact across the organization
   

2. •   All organizational decisions include an assessment of the effect on Partners
   

3. •   More than 80% of revenues are driven by Partners
   

4. •   Experiencing sustained executive level commitment to Partners (stable)
   

5. •   Strong and senior Global Channel executive
   

Facing several of these pain points:

1. •   Experiencing intra-Channel conflict
   

2. •   Defending Channel spending budget
   

3. •   Potentially redundant regional activities and resources
   

4. •   Pressure to continue to be innovative – smaller, less complex, more nimble competitors vying for Partner mindshare
   

5. •   Programs, processes and communications are increasingly complex and confusing
   

6. •   Ensure program legality and process compliance

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