IDC estimates $56.6 billion, or 59% of total North American software revenue, was influenced by partners in 2001.
This partner activity sizing, the first ever by the global IT market intelligence and
advisory firm, reveals what software vendors have known intuitively for years - that end-user purchases are more often
than not influenced by third parties.
The software revenue figures are also significant because they quantify influencers' activity that vendors have long recognized as core to their sales strategy, even though they have struggled to turn it to their advantage.
That's changing. As a result, IDC expects the impact of influencer activity will continue to rise through to 2006 as it becomes increasingly recognized through partner programs.
"Software vendors are beginning to recognize the crucial role that influencers
play in the software sales process through influence programs" said Kevin Restivo, program manager for IDC's Software Strategic Alliances program.
"Vendors are creating value-based partnering plans that reward partners for generating
business in specific key markets or adding value that enhances a company's offering."
Software influencers are defined by IDC as companies that influence end-user
decisions about software product purchases, but do not necessarily resell those
products.
According to IDC, incorporating software influencers into a broader partner strategy is not uniform, however partners must be able to influence a deal in a vendor's favor naturally and to easily offer such recommendations for a software influencer program to be successful.
Vendors should also set requirements for influence activity and determine what resources they will need to gain access to in order to adequately support partner recommendations.
www.idc.com

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