Exclusivity Blinders

STEVEN BURKE

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Can be reached at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].

CRN Industry Editor Barbara Darrow shines the spotlight on the partner throwdown in one of our news analysis stories. Infor, the third-largest ERP player (behind SAP and Oracle), is one of an increasing number of vendors either subtly or flat-out demanding exclusivity. More and more vendors are looking to sideline VARs that offer multiple product sets.

Infor argues that it considers VARs an extension of its own sales force and simply can't abide partners with divided loyalties. Divided loyalties, indeed. The first loyalty of each and every solution provider is to the customer. You wouldn't sell a customer a solution that is simply too unwieldy or complex for their needs.

What Infor VARs have to ask themselves is whether they are putting their customers' businesses as well as their own at risk by pledging loyalty come hell or high water to a single vendor. No one likes to be boxed into a corner, and that is just what Infor is doing to its partners.

This, in an age when tech-savvy customers are demanding choices and refusing to be locked into a single, proprietary product set. It's no wonder Linux is on the rise. Linux is thriving because it offers customers an open alternative to the stodgy, high-priced and closed architectures of the past. It's also providing customers with a strong return on investment. It's all about getting out of the software and licensing full-nelson being put on customers by software giants like Microsoft.

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Ultimately, when you limit yourself to a single tunnel-vision technology approach, you are limiting your market reach and impact. One reason many large vendors are having difficulty growing their businesses through the channel is they have come to the table with programs aimed at limiting partner participation. There is nothing wrong with demanding an investment from partners to play and making sure they have the technical know-how to get the job done well. But it is not in the company's or the customer's best interest to demand exclusivity at all costs. The companies and VARs that walk such a path in this day and age are setting themselves up to fail.

Are you exclusive or inclusive? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].