Initial Situation
The service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a software architecture that enables companies to implement and adapt business processes to fast changing markets with unprecedented speed and ease and thus to improve agility, enhance collaboration and reduce operational costs. One of the leading players in the SOA market aimed to increase its sales of SOA based solutions with sales partners – typically systems integrators and ISV. To develop a partner sales program the client needed a better understanding of the current situation and asked GP+S to conduct a survey focused on the following questions:
- Which business model do partners apply to SOA based solutions?
- What strategy do partners pursue for selling SOA to enterprises and to government agencies?
- How do the partners’ key customers rate the maturity of SOA?
- How do the partners rate the market position and the product portfolio of the SOA vendor versus the competition?
- What do partners need in order to successfully market their own services and software solution together with those of the SOS vendor to provide customers with an end-to-end solution?
- Where does the SOA vendor’s offering have gaps and technical shortcomings or deficits in marketing support that are likely to have a detrimental impact on collaborative marketing?
- How is the SOA vendor’s partner program being used and how helpful do partners find this program?
- Which joint customers are likely to provide additional business opportunities?
GP+S Services
- Analysis of market situation and market development for the single product lines: broadband As-is analysis of the existing partner program and assessment of its applicability
- Execution of an internal survey in the client’s partner management organization to identify the vendor-internal view of enhanced business through sales partners
- Preparation and execution of interviews of selected partners in collaboration with the SOA service/development managers and business managers
- Cross-analysis of these partner interviews, consolidation of the results and comparison of vendor’s internal and partners’ external views
- Presentation of the results to management, including recommendations for the identification of new business opportunities
Results
- In-depth understanding of marketing strategies and requirements of sales partners as the basis for the development of successful collaborative marketing programs
- Cost reductions achieved through the focusing of the marketing budget on programs and measures considered important by partners and that still show room for improvement
- Valuable information for effectively closing gaps within the vendor’s product portfolio
- Accurate and relevant information about key competitors in the SOA space
- Identification of new sales opportunities resulting form partner interviews
