• Results from a survey conducted by Westcon-Comstor reveal the most important area of investment for channel partners.
• While there is obvious agreement that data is important, that data needs to be useful to organisations.
• Unfortunately understanding the data available to channel partners is an upward battle that collaboration among partners may be able to solve.

While both might be oil, you wouldn’t cook a meal in a pool of motor oil nor would you fill your car with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. For years we’ve heard that “data is the new oil” as a phrase meant to convey just how transformative actions informed by data can be.

The importance of having access to the right data was the key takeaway from Westcon-Comstor’s newest report – Bridging the Gap: Power Up Your Data for Channel Partner Transformation. The distributor asked 500 channel partners in nine countries about their business. For South African respondents in the survey, data formed a key aspect of their journey toward everything-as-a-service (XaaS).

100 percent of local respondents cited data as the most important areas of investment in their business. However, as our oil example above suggests, not all data is valuable and channel partners want data that can help them identify opportunities in their market.

The trouble is that when it comes to getting this data, channel partners face a number challenges. For one, the way data is presented to channel partners can differ from source to source a vendor may use one format while a retailer uses something entirely different. Further to that, employees may even taint data.

As many as 45 percent cited this data collation issue as one of their biggest concerns and rightfully so. We’re already seeing artificial intelligence entering the business sphere and channel partners likely want to leverage the technology before competitors can. With dirty data however, this process is slowed and cleaning data is a costly, time-consuming exercise.

This means that investment in this regard is an absolute requirement for many if not all channel partners. As many as 65 percent of local partners surveyed agree that distribution will rely on providing meaningful customer and market insights.

Our research clearly shows that while partners see data as central to their transition to recurring revenue models, many are grappling with practical challenges around access to data and data utilisation,” said Louise Taute, MD, Westcon-Comstor Southern Africa.

“Application of data and attitudes to it vary across different geographic markets, but one universal theme is that partners want to enhance their data capabilities and embed a truly data-driven approach as they aim to unlock growth opportunities. It is incumbent on those across the channel ecosystem, including distributors, to equip partners with the data and analytics they need to seize new growth opportunities and complete their journey to a subscription, software and services-based future,” the director adds.

Perhaps collaboration within the sector would help. From Westcon-Comstor’s survey the needs of channel partners are aligned so it would make sense to see those partners working together to at the very least establish a framework that the sector can make use of when sharing data or reports.

It’s a move that, to our minds at least, makes sense. Whether competitors would agree to work together however is a question we can’t answer but perhaps it’s time for channel partners to pursue an answer.

[Image – Hugo Hercer from Pixabay]