Cloud marketplaces and hyperscaler co-sell

• Oracle commits $1B to partners and opens marketplace co-sell
• AWS and Microsoft build in-house teams, Google and Oracle fund partners
• Glean joins Claude Marketplace, using existing Anthropic commitments
• Google Cloud ISVs need ISV-led and Google-sourced co-sell
• Early cloud rep involvement turned a one-year deal into three
• Salesforce AgentExchange reshapes ISV co-sell
• Microsoft Referrals separates co-sell deals from inbound leads

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AI agents and agentic infrastructure in partnering

• AWS Partner Central now creates co-sell deals from conversations
• ZoomInfo scales co-sell across 1,500 reps with AI agents
• Partners now ask for governed MCP server access first
• "AI in co-sell" means three different things
• AI partner playbooks differ from cloud in five ways
• Microsoft Copilot becomes a partner discovery channel
• Fractional operators with AI agents can fix partner programs

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Partner program design and operating models

• Building a channel organization takes about three years
• Partner renewals rose from 78% to 88% under a new model
• Structured Performance Partnering replaces ad hoc partnering
• PRM success depends on ownership data and adoption
• Partner functions lack consistent ownership across companies
• Partnership launches need a joint business plan first
• Fewer, deeper partnerships beat a partner directory

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Partner marketing and demand

• Channel and marketing should stop fighting over attribution
• AI-native platforms make co-marketing the foundation layer
• Goals, trust, power and risk appetite decide partner marketing
• Co-opetition multiplies value through shared events
• Smaller partners win platform attention through SIs and ISVs
• Channel associations launch a Strategic Advisory Program

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Ecosystem shifts by market

• Space becomes a $55.7B partner-led channel opportunity by 2035
• NetSuite partner consolidation is degrading customer service
• AI turns ERP implementation partners into strategic assets
• AI agents make systems of record like Dynamics 365 matter more
• Alliance revenue conflicts independent cloud and AI advice
• Microsoft's 2026 Digital Defense Report guides MSPs on SMB security
• ServiceNow partners can escape feast-or-famine with elastic resourcing

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Partnerships, launches and recognition

• Sia reaches Preferred Partner in the Claude Partner Network
• A Google Cloud partner earns two competencies and Premier Co-sell
• Dayforce and Deloitte expand their strategic alliance
• Qlik and AWS align 2027 co-sell plans around AI-ready data
• Parloa's AI agents now integrate with Epic
• Teleskope announces a channel partnership with GuidePoint
• Microsoft spotlights Volt as an AI-native Business Central partner
• OpsGuru saved 2,400 hours automating AWS co-sell

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New firms, platforms and publications

• Second Engine Partners launches to turn partnerships into revenue
• Yond Advisory marks 90 days with a partnership framework
• Parceiro launches a platform for SaaS partner programs
• Ultimate Partner book launches with seven principles
• Fours rebrands from Suger and publishes an Oracle guide

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Events and industry signals

• Channel Focus 2026 signals a shift from transactions to outcomes
• Ultimate Partner Live gathers hyperscalers, OpenAI and Anthropic
• At channel events, AI changes everything but relationships matter
• SoftwareOne's council outlines five partner economics signals
• Oracle AI World hosts the $1B partner funding announcement

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Thanks to Marcia Dempster, Amanda Nielsen, Dakota Q., Marcia Byrne, Heather Mason, Theresa Caragol, James A. Beasley, Craig Booth, Lela Koopal-Patel, Reis Barrie, Tolu Onibiyo, Kyle E., Hunter Hurst, Fred Diamond, Elis Martinez, David Tavolaro, Colton Lindelof, Mike Mason, George Drapeau, Scott Jacocks, Illianna Acosta, Jessica Szivos, Roman Kirsanov, Gayle Nelson, Erin Figer, Sam Yarborough, Katie Landaal, Keith Tang, Grey Wyman, Paul Magnone, Sugata Sanyal, Gustavo Cols, Parker Woods, Jeff Ballard, Craig Patterson, Latif Hamlani, Elliott Wilson, David Linthicum, Tim Mueller, Girish Smith, Jennifer Roberts, Claudio Ayub, Matthieu Courtecuisse, Zubin Irani, Yuri Bukhan, Michael Gray, Nina Haimoff, Vince Menzione, Tim Hatton, Talal Alqinawi, Vishal Chhibbar, Kathryn Rose, Lisa Hopkins, Scott Huguenin, Bevan Stephenson, Jason Schumaker, Louis Scott de Martinville, Jon Yoo, Jay McBain, Jose Gomez Cueto, Heather Eileen Connally, John McCabe, Mason Whitaker, Mike Peres, Mary Beth Walker, Jesse Sladek, Vaughn Mordecai, Elisa Lai, Casey Lofton and Troy Macias and everyone else who contributed insights to this edition. Find the full list of posts and voices on LinkedIn: