Parallel Universe

No names need be mentioned here, but reporters are continually amazed by the contrast between what they hear from solution providers in the field—you know, the schmoes actually doing work—and vendors&' rosy world view.

BARBARA DARROW

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Can be reached at (781) 839-1223 or via e-mail at [email protected].

A perfect (if long-in-the-tooth) example of this was the major vendor that touted its latest operating system as revolutionary because it included disk compression. The whole marketing campaign was built around that concept. Then, when the compression technology blew up, the exec in charge actually claimed that it was never a major feature at all. When reminded about the existence of damning evidence—a closet full of “Double Your Diskspace” t-shirts—he clammed up.

This executive&'s cheerful denial of reality was actually a step up from the usual “bugs as features” crock that vendors usually try to get everyone to swallow. (“That&'s not the blue screen of death, that&'s our new screensaver!”)

Vendor partner programs are another case in point. Solution providers know if the programs work before the vendors themselves. They are the canaries in the coalmine, if you&'ll excuse the dark analogy.

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One large database vendor steadfastly maintains that “comp neutrality” is not really what its beleaguered partners need or want as a channel policy. Forget the simple fact that such a plan would compensate the vendor&'s direct sales force equally whether the sale goes direct or through partners, in turn obliterating most of the channel conflict now afflicting this same vendor. Instead, the company maintains that the cure-all is an opportunity-registration system that, in theory, would protect new channel leads from being snarfed up by its own sales force.

The flaw in that logic is that resellers often distrust such systems because they could be used to tip off in-house competition to their deals. Or worse yet, VARs fear that the vendor will claim the Acme Corp. deal anyway because somehow, somewhere within the prospect, some of the vendor&'s software already lurks. (Meaning that this is not, technically speaking, a net new opportunity, so all bets are off.) Meanwhile, partners and vendor sales goons duke it out when they should be working together to expand business.

What do you think? Will vendors ever learn? Let me know at (781) 839-1223 or via e-mail at [email protected].