Here’s Where 20 Channel Chiefs Want Partners To Invest In 2025
Channel executives on the CRN 2025 Channel Chiefs list were asked what areas they would most like to see their channel partners invest in this year. Here’s what 20 channel chiefs had to say.
Solution providers must constantly decide how and where to invest their resources around the products and services they offer, the IT vendors they work with, the markets they target, and the training and skill sets their employees need —all in a rapidly evolving IT industry.
That’s where channel executives and the partner programs they operate can help, providing partners with guidance and resources to help them make those decisions and follow through on execution.
As part of the 2025 CRN Channel Chiefs project, we asked the more than 550 channel executives that made the list to tell us where they would like to see their channel partners invest in 2025, whether it’s in new technologies, new services and practices, or new skills and training. Here’s what 20 had to say.
Philip Burger
VP, U.S. Channel
Acer America
We would like to see channel partners invest in people. The economy and market conditions were difficult in 2024 and there were a lot of changes in every corner of the U.S. channel. We all expect a rebound in 2025, which should be followed by hiring more qualified talent back that will be needed to manage the expected growth.
Cisco Systems
Rodney Clark
SVP, Partnerships, SMB
Technology advancements are changing what customers expect from Cisco and our partners. We’ve evolved our partner program (launching February 2026) to better align with this new landscape. In 2025, partners can start preparing for the new program by continuing to invest in the security, networking collaboration, cloud and AI, and observability portfolios where they already have expertise (and/or start building capabilities in new portfolios); the Cisco co-sell/influence motion and explore expanding beyond resell; managed services and expanding to new managed Cisco offers if they have not already done so; and building capabilities around our Splunk offerings.
Cohesity
Mark Conley
VP, Americas Partner Sales
Ongoing and in-depth conversations and understanding of the strategies and customer value brought by Cohesity solutions. This takes the form of regular technical deep-dive sessions, executive briefings, both for the channel partner and their clients, and partner-authored position papers, social media posts and success stories around Cohesity solutions.
Dell Technologies
Darren Sullivan
SVP, Global Partner Program, Operations
We’d like to see our partners focus on three key areas in 2025. AI innovation: Leverage Dell AI Factory to capitalize on the transformative power of GenAI and promote business growth. Client Solutions: Seize the upcoming PC refresh opportunity by promoting Dell’s client PC and peripheral portfolio. Storage: Continue to embrace [the] Partner First Strategy For Storage. There’s a tremendous opportunity for partners, especially in midrange storage. By investing in these areas, partners can position themselves to deliver exceptional value to customers and drive growth.
Eaton
Steve Loeb
VP, Marketing, Distributed IT
In 2025 we would like to see our channel partners invest in emerging technologies such as AI-driven solutions, advanced UPS technologies and sustainability initiatives. These areas are crucial for staying competitive and meeting the evolving needs of our customers. Additionally, enhancing digital marketing capabilities and expanding into white space opportunities will be key to driving growth and improving customer engagement.
Fortinet
Ken McCray
VP, Channel Sales, U.S.
We encourage partners to continue investments in professional and managed services capabilities. In addition, we see strong demand for OT [operational technology], SecOps, SASE specialization and cloud security (where partners should take advantage of our new FortiCNAPP product, which allows them to accelerate business growth and gain a competitive edge).
Google Cloud
Colleen Kapase
VP, Global Partnerships, Programs
In 2025, I encourage partners to prioritize investments in three key areas. Deepen technical expertise: Focus on achieving L400 certifications to elevate delivery capabilities and demonstrate advanced proficiency in Google Cloud technologies. Strengthen co-sell capabilities: Invest in building robust sales, presales and delivery teams to effectively collaborate with our direct go-to-market organization and drive joint customer success. Cultivate industry specialization: Develop industry-specific expertise to address unique customer challenges and establish repeatable, scalable go-to-market motions within target verticals.
Hitachi Vantara
Kimberly King
SVP, Strategic Partners, Alliances
I would love to see our partners invest in learning to expand their knowledge and capabilities in marketing—all around hot areas of opportunity including hybrid cloud, data protection and cyber resiliency. I would also like to see them develop the expertise and capabilities to lead with AI-ready infrastructure.
IBM
Kate Woolley
GM, IBM Ecosystem
Our partners have a tremendous opportunity for growth with AI, and we encourage them to continue to develop expertise with us to help accelerate the shift of clients’ AI projects from pilot to production. In the past year, we’ve worked with partners to infuse AI into their own solutions, build centers of excellence to support value creation, and sell watsonx-powered solutions directly to clients through marketplaces. We continue to invest in partners that are committed to growing with IBM in alignment with our AI and hybrid cloud strategy, helping clients modernize their business and achieve success.
Intermedia Cloud Communications
Jonathan McCormick
COO, CRO
On-premises business phone systems are set to follow residential landlines into obsolescence. Cloud communications solutions offer superior reliability, security and ease of management, along with the flexibility needed for today’s hybrid and remote work environments—and the recurring revenue potential is substantial. If partners are still on the fence, now is the time to make the move. The forecast growth in cloud communications solutions over the next decade is considerable, signaling that the shift to the cloud is not just a trend but a lasting opportunity for both channel partners and service providers.
Lenovo
Pascal Bourget
Channel Chief, COO, Lenovo International Markets
Channel partners should prioritize three key areas: enhancing AI readiness and building robust platform-selling capabilities for AI solutions, integrating sustainability into their operations to align with both market and customer expectations, and capitalizing on the growth opportunities of Windows 11 by advancing their PC offerings. Focusing on these areas will not only strengthen our partnerships but also position our partners to meet evolving customer demands and stay competitive in an innovative landscape.
Microsoft
Julie Sanford
VP, Partner GTM, Programs, Operations
Partners should focus on skilling themselves in AI and understanding use cases and customer value propositions. They should act as customer zero, ensuring they are using the technology themselves because you can only give away what you have. We aim for channel transformation, encouraging channel partners to invest in their own transformation to deliver customer outcomes beyond transactions, including presales, post-sales, delivery and support services.
N-able
David Weeks
VP, Partner Experience
Resilience: Cybersecurity isn’t enough. MSPs need to focus on building resiliency into their business and the businesses they serve. Talent: Continuing to invest in their teams, the talent they have and the talent they partner with will be increasingly important. Marketing and sales: MSPs should continue educating the market on how they solve for business outcomes and address common and more specialized challenges customers face now and in the future. Services: Invest in the services, or partner to offer the services, your customers need to solve key issues including greater security, better productivity, increased flexibility, more scalability, reduced costs and increased optimization.
Nutanix
Dave Gwyn
SVP, Worldwide Channels
Partners should prioritize deepening their expertise in digital transformation and IT modernization. This includes infrastructure modernization by moving from three-tier to HCI infrastructure and understanding how both application virtualization and containerization technologies converge in hybrid multi-cloud environments. Partners who fail to grasp this broader picture risk falling behind.
Red Hat
Stefanie Chiras
SVP, Partner Ecosystem Success
I would like to see our partners invest more in developing managed and professional services with Red Hat technologies. Managed and professional services can be a key revenue generator for partner businesses, especially in today’s competitive and fast-paced landscape. Furthermore, customers are increasingly interested in services that can help streamline their path to success, whether that means optimizing their hybrid cloud footprint, assessing virtualization alternatives or preparing for the era of AI.
Schneider Electric
Gordon Lord
VP, U.S. Channel Sales Organization, Secure Power
New customer acquisition remains a priority, alongside advancing software, services and sustainability. We’re focusing on accelerating software solutions to manage the UPS life cycle more effectively, incorporating AI to drive smarter, more efficient operations.
ServiceNow
Erica Volini
SVP, Global Partnerships, Channels
Investment for 2025 needs to be all about GenAI—we’re looking for partners to train their workforce, increasing the AI-ready capacity within our ecosystem. We're also looking for them to implement GenAI solu’ions internally, using the power of AI to deliver value to customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. And last, we want partners continuing to deepen their involvement with our internal engineering, product and GTM teams.
Sophos
Kendra Krause
SVP, Global Channels
In 2025, it’s important that channel partners invest in services that enhance customer cybersecurity posture. This includes offering posture assessments, compromise assessments and tabletop exercises to proactively address vulnerabilities and prepare for potential threats. Additionally, on-boarding and configuration services, along with comprehensive life-cycle management, will provide customers with a seamless experience from setup through ongoing security maintenance. These investments will strengthen customer trust, optimize security strategies and reinforce long-term relationships, enabling channel partners to deliver greater value in the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
Veeam Software
Kevin Rooney
VP, Channel, Americas
Partners must recognize the ongoing growth of the XaaS market. It presents significant opportunities to align their offerings and expertise. Partners should tap into its potential and capitalize on the increasing demand for cloud-based backup solutions. Partners should utilize both cross-selling and upselling approaches with existing Veeam customers to maximize customer value, partner engagement and sales growth. Veeam’s comprehensive portfolio provides partners with a strong foundation to successfully implement strategies and capitalize on the potential for increased sales and customer satisfaction. Channel partners should focus on investing in customer success teams to create a strong, long-lasting foundation throughout the customer life cycle.
WatchGuard Technologies
Michelle Welch
CMO, SVP, Business Strategy
We would like to see our partners invest in customer advanced security services. Comprehensive security requires layers, it always has. Now proactive monitoring and response services are no longer for the enterprise only, they are critical to all cybersecurity deployments. If they chose the right vendor partner, all channel partners can offer and monetize this level of support for their clients, be it sell-through, co-managed, or fully owned and operated.