Partner Enablement & Channel Strategy: Mapping the Maturity Curve

Partner ecosystems have become a defining competitive advantage for large technology vendors. While most vendors recognize the importance of partners, building a self-perpetuating ecosystem is an entirely different challenge

As companies scale, their partner strategy must evolve—from early-stage opportunistic alliances to structured, value-driven ecosystems. However, the maturity curve of partner enablement is often poorly defined, leading to misalignment between vendors, partners, and market needs.

We are launching a collaborative initiative to map the evolution of partner enablement and channel strategy as tech vendors mature. Our goal is to identify the key inflection points, best practices, and critical investments that separate high-performing partner ecosystems from the rest. We'll do most of the heavy lifting, but we're keen for a little help from you.

And we need your help. More on that later.

What We Already Think

Through our work in building and executing GTM strategy for partners of large ecosystems, we’ve identified several recurring challenges and patterns in how vendors enable and manage partners at different stages of maturity. Here’s what we believe today:

Early-stage vendors (Category creation or category entry)

• Partner recruitment is often opportunistic rather than strategic.
• The vendor has to do 95% of the heavy lifting to create the category or earn their way into an existing one. The role of the partners is to satisfy demand, not to create it.
• Enablement is therefore predominantly technical and operational with a focus on "how to play with us".

Scaling vendors (Growth phase)

• Formalized partner tiers and incentive structures begin to emerge.
• Large strategic partnerships are formed and jointly invested in, with MDF / BDF funding co-marketing for the next tiers of partners below these super-strategic investments. But the plans behind that co-funding are basic and not well-formed or well operationalised.
• Demand generation is now a shared responsibility between the vendor and these larger partners.
• The vendor creates and promotes 'marketing-in-a-kit' type programs for their smaller partners. These programs often struggle to create meaningful impact for either party.
• The vendor might also invest in some form of marketing or sales enablement. This, too, rarely moves the needle but is not (yet) a problem due to the GTM momentum from the vendor.
• Partners are only modestly focused on positioning or demand generation, focusing more on building relationships with vendor salespeople and the labour market (e.g. employer branding) as demand is strong.

Mature vendors (Market leadership)

• Ecosystem thinking becomes essential, with partners playing differentiated roles (resellers, co-innovators, service providers, etc.).
• Consolidation amongst the partners sees large global systems integrators (GSIs) or PE firms aggregating mid-sized partners into larger firms.
• Customers have more choice over which of the vendor's partners they work with. Salespeople within the vendor are likewise spoiled for choice.
• Differentiation, therefore, becomes key. Partners who have been proudly messaging "we can do it all for you" need to move to "we're the best at X" or become invisible and overlooked.
• Demand can no longer be the sole responsibility of the vendor. Partners who have been surfing the vendor's bow wave find themselves under-resourced and under-skilled at this new role.

While these phases provide a rough map, the reality is simple enough. The role of partner enablement changes as a vendor's position matures.

We want to refine this framework and surface the most effective ways for vendors to maximize partner impact at each stage with a view to building a usable enablement playbook for tech vendors.

How We Are Structuring the Conversation

To refine our framework, we are engaging senior executives in partner sales, marketing, enablement, and strategy roles at major technology vendors. We’re also inviting thought leaders who have shaped the industry’s thinking on ecosystems, platforms, and partner engagement.

We anticipate running this in structured waves:

1. Wave 1: Identifying key thought leaders and existing frameworks. What frameworks already exist that we ought to pay attention to, and whose voices do we need in the room to evolve this into a useful playbook?
2. Wave 2: Agree the phases. If there is merit to the premise that enablement changes as they and their category mature, then what are the phases?
3. Wave 3: Identifying best practices, critical investments, and potential pitfalls at each stage - again through the lens of partner enablement.
4. Wave 4: Future-looking perspectives—how will AI, automation, and platform-driven business models reshape partner strategy in the next five years?

This article will evolve over time - frequently at first - then potentially leading to derivative works such as in-depth articles, eBooks, and other formats. For now, we'll try to keep it here in one place.

Key Thought Leaders & Their Contributions

The following are the thought leaders we intend reaching out to and why. In no particular order:

Jay McBain (Canalys)

• What he already thinks: Jay is deeply focused on the evolution of channel ecosystems, predicting trends in partnerships, marketplaces, and the shift toward automated partner management. He emphasizes the growing role of AI, automation, and platform-based ecosystems in channel strategy.
• What we want him to contribute: We’d like Jay to frame the macro shifts in partner enablement—where it’s headed in five to ten years. Specifically, how does he see automation and AI shaping partner ecosystems? What role will vendors play in a world where partnerships are increasingly data-driven?

Maria Chien (Forrester Research)

• What she already thinks: Maria is a recognized leader in partner ecosystem marketing, focusing on how vendors can drive partner engagement and co-marketing success. She emphasizes the importance of aligning partner marketing strategies with business outcomes and leveraging data to optimize partner investments.
• What we want her to contribute: We’d like Maria to provide insights into how vendors should structure their partner marketing investments across different stages of maturity. What are the key principles of high-impact partner marketing, and how can vendors best align enablement with revenue growth?

Andrea Coscelli (Former CMA)

• What he already thinks: Andrea’s background is in market regulation and competition, particularly in ensuring fairness in digital ecosystems. He’s likely interested in how partner ecosystems impact competition, pricing strategies, and the role of dominant players.

• What we want him to contribute: His insights could help frame the competitive dynamics of partner ecosystems. What are the regulatory challenges as vendors grow and partnerships become more structured? How should vendors ensure compliance while still innovating in their partner strategies?

Sangeet Paul Choudary (Platform Labs)

• What he already thinks: Sangeet is one of the foremost thinkers on platform business models and network effects. He argues that companies need to think of partnerships in terms of ecosystem value rather than traditional sales channels.
• What we want him to contribute: We’d love for him to explore the shift from a linear sales model to an ecosystem-driven one. How should vendors design their partner programs to ensure they are platform-first? What role does value orchestration play in this shift?

Geoffrey G. Parker (Dartmouth, Co-Author of Platform Revolution)

• What he already thinks: Geoffrey, along with Marshall Van Alstyne, has developed theories on two-sided markets and the economics of platforms. He sees partnerships as a critical mechanism for scaling platforms.
• What we want him to contribute: We’d like to get his perspective on monetization strategies within partner ecosystems. How do vendors ensure that their partner programs are both profitable and sustainable? Are there platform-based revenue models that tech vendors should consider?

Geoffrey Moore (Author of Crossing the Chasm and many more)

• What he already thinks: Geoffrey is a leading voice on technology adoption and market maturation. His Crossing the Chasm framework is foundational to understanding how companies transition from early adopters to mainstream markets.
• What we want him to contribute: We’d like Geoffrey to share his perspective on how partner strategies must evolve to support vendors crossing the chasm. How do partnerships play a role in achieving mainstream adoption?

Bob Moore (CEO of Crossbeam)

• What he already thinks: Bob Moore is a pioneer in partner ecosystem intelligence. Through Crossbeam, he has emphasized the importance of data-sharing and ecosystem collaboration as a way to drive partner-led revenue growth.
• What we want him to contribute: We’d like Bob to discuss the role of data in modern partner programs. How should vendors leverage ecosystem-led growth models to maximize their partner strategy?

How You Can Contribute

1. Let us know who we are missing from the above
2. Share any models or frameworks we should either embrace or challenge
3. Chip in yourself. We are also looking for executives and industry leaders who are willing to engage in any way that suits. This could mean providing direct feedback on our evolving maturity model, sharing best practices or real-world lessons learned, or participating in structured discussions on the future of partner ecosystems.

If you have insights, opinions, or data that could inform this work, we’d love to include you in the conversation. The findings will be synthesized into a structured framework that benefits the industry at large, with contributors acknowledged where appropriate.