Channel Insider, the premier source of channel news and analysis, and Channel Savvy, a ground-breaking management consulting firm that provides training services to vendors and their solution provider partners, announced a new strategic partnership in which the two organizations will develop business self-assessment tools and best practices for technology solution providers. 

Through the partnership, Channel Insider and Channel Savvy will conduct joint research and best practices for accelerating solution provider businesses’ sales and productivity. Channel Insider will host Web-based self-assessment tools to help solution providers rate themselves on their business, technology and channel acumen.

“The partnership between Channel Insider and Channel Savvy will give solution providers deeper insight into their businesses and increase their growth allowing them to reach their financial goals,” said Lawrence M. Walsh, vice president and group publisher of Channel Insider.

According to Channel Insider’s 2009 Market Pulse survey, more than half of IT solution providers—companies that deliver IT products and services to end users—are focusing on adding new customers and retaining existing customers as means for surviving the recession and increasing profits. What solution providers often lack is a means for determining their relative effectiveness with their business models, methods of operation and business metrics. The Channel Insider/Channel Savvy partnership will deliver the first tools to provide measures and best practices in key performance indicators. These assessment tools will be hosted on ChannelInsider.com.

“Self-assessments and benchmarks are important tools for channel executives.  In a closely-held industry, public data is scarce. This partnership will provide broad access to information about how solution providers run their businesses and insight for vendors and VARs as they evaluate program and investment options,” Walsh said.

Channel Savvy has extensive experience improving channels, with a focus on value-added reseller business models, metrics and methods of operation.  This partnership creates a powerful addition to the value that solution providers have come to rely upon from Channel Insider.

 “We are excited to join forces with Channel Insider to bring our community a new and unique value proposition. Business assessments provide executives with data that becomes information and then intelligence, which is a competitive advantage for business owners. We expect VARs and vendors alike to benefit from this partnership,” said Steve Tepedino, CEO and president of Channel Savvy.

Channel Savvy is the latest organization to join the Channel Insider Alliance, a collaborative network of channel-centric organizations. Channel Insider also partners with Amazon Consulting, The ASCII Group, NetMedia Europe and OnForce to produce market-leading research, intelligence reports and resources for the technology solution provider community.