A new digital platform aims to bring the 750-plus vendors sprawled across tech services distributor catalogs into a single portal.
Consulting firm The Channel Standard last month launched its Channel Companion platform, aiming to give technology advisor firms unbiased vendor recommendations for their customer deals, and lower barriers to entry for vendors.
Partners have historically discovered and vetted suppliers through the TSD-run digital platforms. However, as suppliers flock to the ecosystem and TSDs curate their own line cards, keeping up with all the vendors is growing complicated for TAs.
“When there were 50 suppliers, it was really easy to navigate on memory which supplier was the best, but there are 754 suppliers in the ecosystem,” The Channel Standard Founder and CEO Eric Brooker told Channel Dive. “Even the savants in the industry can't operate on memory anymore because there are too many products and there are too many suppliers.”
The Channel Standard unveiled listings data last week. Its TSD Ecosystem Report compared 754 vendors in the portfolios of Telarus, Intelisys, Avant and Sandler Partners and found that 66.2% of the suppliers were available through only one TSD.
Moreover, 2024 research from Channel Futures showed that TAs on average work with multiple TSDs and toggle between different distributor platforms.
Whereas TSD directories list only contracted providers, The Channel Standard is going for them all. Brooker said the platform is onboarding vendors with a rigorous questionnaire designed to identify their best use cases. When TAs prompt the AI engine with client details, the platform offers a percentage match for the best-fit providers. The platform rewards vendors for detailing specializations and niches.
“Suppliers that say they do everything for everyone and they do it all really, really well, won’t bubble up with any level of frequency,” Brooker said.
Access in the TSD market
A new platform could be a boon for small vendors, who struggle to stand out in the crowded TSD line card.
Larger players can afford to sponsor and attend TSD events and get face time with prospective TA sellers.
“Whether you like it or not, there is a pay-to-play aspect to this [industry],” said Joshua Schluep, director of sales engineering at TitanNGN.
A robust algorithm could level the playing field, according to Devan Adams, principal analyst at Omdia, a Channel Dive sister company.
“A major by-product of the platform may be offering greater visibility to smaller, lesser known brands which offer innovative solutions but lack the marketing prowess to get on most partners’ radars,” Adams said in a message.
The TSDs Channel Dive contacted declined to comment. Channel Companion could be viewed as competition by TSD platforms like Avant Pathfinder and Telarus Hub. But suppliers and TAs suggest that TSDs could also benefit from the platform.
“This really should be a three-pronged thing where the TSDs can use this too. If the TSDs are using it, and they're using it for their sales engineers to get a little bit of help,” said Terry LaPointe, cloud UC/CX and carrier services specialist at High Point Networks.
The value added reseller will continue to rely on trusted TSD sales engineers for additional perspective on Channel Companion vendors, LaPointe said.
“They're still going to use the TSD SEs, but those TSD SEs can now probably be used for more strategic, high-value type engagements, rather than every little deal that comes down the pipe from every little agent in the business,” Schluep said.
And ultimately, TSDs will sell more deals through their TA partners, because TAs will be shortening their time to discovery.
“You're going to get more wins. You're going to get a more rounded portfolio of partners that are bringing in revenue,” LaPointe said.
The platform is free for TAs, though it will eventually contain premium features, Brooker said. Vendors also have free access with an option to pay for additional data.
Brooker hopes TAs will take advantage of call transcription capabilities that will lead to real-time vendor recommendations. For tiers of $1,000, $2,000 and $5,000 per month, vendors gain access to data points and analytics, what Brooker dubs “an advisory board on steroids.”
Top tier members will enjoy “priority matching,” according to the company.
The idea has resonated with suppliers and TAs, but The Channel Standard will need to prove it can scale. TAs — ever skittish about trusting others with personal data — are waiting for peer testimonials, and vendors need a critical mass of TAs to sell their products.
“If it's got a good base of meaningful vendors that are tied into it, then you can really start to drive some adoption,” Coeo Solutions CRO Jim Glackin said.
Glackin likened it to Consumer Reports, which doesn’t accept advertising. Brooker’s analogy is Zillow.
“Every opaque market eventually gets a transparency layer. Real estate, car buying, recruiting. The pattern is always the same. An ecosystem where information doesn't flow freely eventually produces a tool that lets the market see clearly,” Brooker said. “The telecom channel is one of the last major B2B markets where that correction hasn't happened yet. Our model requires all three sides, suppliers, advisors, and distributors, to benefit.”
