Channel partners accustomed to competing for customers, talent, and market share are increasingly turning to one another for help navigating technology shifts and improving their operations.
At Ingram Micro’s recent Unplugged event, partners described exchanging technology strategies, leadership lessons, and even stories of failed business decisions with companies that might otherwise be considered competitors.
Those conversations can give smaller providers a faster path to adopting new technologies and building more mature businesses.
Peer collaboration helps channel partners move faster
For Andrew Walsh, vice president of operations at Allied System Integrators, the value lies in comparing his company’s direction with that of other successful partners without treating every interaction as a competitive exchange.
“It’s a good opportunity to kind of learn about what our competitors are doing in a noncompetitive environment,” Walsh said. “Really, sharing is what it comes down to in a nutshell—sharing information, sharing what we’ve learned and our experiences together.”
Community helps partners improve their operations
The exchange becomes particularly valuable when smaller providers must evaluate emerging technologies with limited time and resources.
Walsh described learning from peers as “kind of like a cheat code” that can accelerate a smaller organization’s understanding and adoption of new technologies.
Partners that have already tested a platform, service model, or implementation strategy can help others understand what worked, what failed, and what could be adapted for their own customers.
That model is especially relevant as partners evaluate artificial intelligence. Walsh said providers should approach AI as another business tool rather than adopting it because of market hype. The objective should remain identifying a customer’s business problem and selecting the right tool to solve it.
Community helps partners improve their operations
Peter Fidler, president of WCA Technologies, said participation in peer organizations helped his company develop faster and improve its operational maturity.
Fidler identified Ingram Micro’s partner community, now unified under the Trust X Alliance banner, as a significant influence on the business.
“The minute we joined that, that’s where we really started to accelerate [and] really understand the business,” Fidler said.
Partners discussed how they structured help desks, selected business platforms, managed employees, and recovered from unsuccessful decisions. Fidler said the willingness to share failures was as valuable as exchanging successful practices.
Companies located only blocks apart in New York City regularly compare tools, pricing, vendors, and operating methods, according to Fidler. Some also alert one another to potential business issues or recommend competing providers when they believe another company is a better fit for a prospective customer.
“It’s about sharing information. It’s about people,” Fidler said. “There’s always learning, and you have to be open to that.”
Bill Brandel, Ingram Micro’s executive vice president of North America, said that cooperation is becoming necessary as customer technology environments grow more complex.
“No one partner will be able to provide every solution needed in most cases,” Brandel said. “Plus, we need to remember that humans are still central to success here. Technology is wonderful, but it’s humans that create it and humans that will drive it forward.”
Partner feedback strengthens the Ingram ecosystem
Victor Baez, senior vice president of U.S. sales at Ingram Micro, described the participating partners as a “true community.” Those relationships also give Ingram direct feedback about its performance, vendor programs, technology changes, and market conditions.
“It’s not a transactional relationship,” Baez said. “It’s the truest form of partnership that we have. So we have to listen and listen and listen.”
Baez said members also conduct business with one another and share expertise across AI, cybersecurity, data management, cloud infrastructure, and services.
Brandel said Ingram intends for that community to help partners make consequential decisions about their businesses.
“A lot of companies try to imitate what we have here at TrustX,” Brandel said. “This should be the launchpad for partners who need to make key decisions about the future of their businesses.”