Some 45 percent of resellers say that renewal discussions are important to ongoing customer relationships, and 13 percent claim to focus tightly on contract renewals. User feedback supports those ratios, with nearly 40 percent saying they spoke most recently with a reseller as part of an ongoing, healthy relationship, and that 16 percent of those conversations focused on renewal.

“Look at the vendor findings, though,” Krakora points out. “More than half of users who had their most recent renewal conversation with a vendor report that the conversation was focused strictly on the renewal.” That could explain why vendors report the highest license renewal rates come through their direct-sales force, she adds.