@kboasso - Excellent, Phil. Spot on.
The other point we keep making -- particularly re alternate channels and partners -- is that SaaS vendors need to stop thinking like software companies. Good SaaS vendors shouldn't need technical expertise inside their customers' organizations; that's why the on-demand (r)evolution is giving IT people fits. To make the sale, SaaS companies (and their partners) need to demonstrate real line-of-business expertise.
The best channel partners may not need to be all that technically inclined; instead, they'll act as consultants in their space, and the SaaS apps they offer will allow them to scale delivery of their core services. We see this happening with applications like Clario (www.clarioanalytics.com) -- developed by marketing analytics experts Decision Intelligence to offer their advertising / promotional services to a broader customer base -- and Janus Health (www.janushealth.com) - which was founded by health care industry executives to help MDs manage both patient care and their practices.
Companies like these (and other SaaS vendors that "get it") will build partner relationships with vendors that add real business (as opposed to technical) value to the user relationship.
kpb
www.KeychainLogic.net
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