AIs Impact on Partnerships: Identifying the Winners & the Losers

Ever stopped to think how Generative AI will reshape 📊 partnerships? In our recent analysis, Jay McBain helped to break down which partner types will win. Whether you agree or not, it's an insight you'll want to catch.

A special thank you to Jay McBain, Chief Analyst of Channels, Partnerships & Ecosystems at Canalys for the great quarterly analysis.

Here's an insight that's perhaps more evident than it seems at first glance:

Generative AI differs from many technologies – it's not a standalone product or a sellable SKU. Rather, it's now being woven into the fabric of major business applications.

📈 Who Stands to Benefit

✔️Global System Integrators

With their focus on security, compliance, cost-efficient storage, and computing, they're in a prime position to capitalize on generative AI's early years.

✔️ SaaS Companies (ISVs)

The vast ocean of 200,000 ISV SaaS companies will also be beneficiaries, as generative AI brings a new technological twist to their products. This naturally opens doors for new conversations with customers, product enrichment, and upselling.

✔️ Professional Services

Digital agencies, accounting firms, and lawyers will seize opportunities in specific sectors like marketing, where generative AI will play a crucial role in content creation and automation.

“If the generative AI is built into a marketing platform like Marketo, Eloqua, Pardot, HubSpot, it's probably going to be the digital agency thinking through generative AI content creation and how these automated bots are going to work within the marketing strategy and marketing framework.”

❓ Who Might Be Left Behind

🔻Resellers

Since generative AI isn't sold as a standalone product, resellers face an uncertain future with nothing tangible to sell.

“470,000 resellers kind of don't have a SKU to sell.”

🔻VARs and Managed Service Providers

With no clear path to sell or build managed services around large language models, these players may struggle in the initial years of generative AI.

🔻Traditional Channels

Those channels rooted in earlier technological eras may find limited opportunities in generative AI, at least in the short term.

What is becoming critical in the age of AI is data and integration

In the AI-driven era, data and seamless integrations are emerging as linchpins. With a incredible 80% of recent G2 research participants favoring products with integrated AI, integrations are now table stakes. So will be the real-time data transfer to Large Language Models.

Who do you think will win the most?

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