I had a fantastic LIVE conversation yesterday with Balaji Subramanian at the El PRADO Hotel in Palo Alto during Channelscaler’s partner-focused AI event. What stood out all day was a practical, product-first approach to AI in the channel.

Balaji, Channelscaler’s Chief Partner Officer, framed the day around a simple but powerful operating model - the four Ps - and then walked us through concrete use cases that show how AI is already reducing friction and accelerating partner revenue.

“If you don’t drive customer value, you lose relevance very quickly - focus on customer outcomes and the partner program becomes meaningful.”

Start with the why: partners and customers. Channelscaler brought customers from CrowdStrike, Broadcom and Optiv to the event because real-world stories make the technology meaningful. When those customers describe replacing long, manual processes with lightweight AI agents, the conversation moves from abstract hype to measurable outcomes.

Balaji shared an example where a six-step deal registration process had four of those steps automated - roughly 70% of the manual work removed. The result? Faster registrations, fewer handoffs, and quicker conversion. That’s revenue acceleration - plain and simple.

A second use case everyone nodded at was MDF. Marketing development funds have always been paperwork-heavy - proposals, multi-level approvals, reconciliation and payment. Channelscaler built an “MDF agent” that streamlines that whole cycle, cutting approval friction and shortening time-to-fund and time-to-execution.

For partners, the difference is material: they can propose, run campaigns, report results, and get paid with far less manual back-and-forth. For vendors, it’s better visibility into spend and outcomes. The ROI is operational and relational.

Lead distribution is a third practical example. We all know the pain: leads are handed out, they sit, or they go to the wrong partner. Channelscaler’s approach uses partner profiles - industry focus, competencies, past customers - to match leads to the best-fit partner automatically. That reduces lead latency and improves conversion because the partner receiving the lead is actually positioned to win it. Balaji put it simply:

“Make it easy to do business with you, and partners will wake up thinking about you instead of some other vendor they work with.”

Of course, the technical bits matter - and Balaji rightly emphasized governance and data quality. AI tools amplify whatever you feed them, so a disciplined data strategy and governance around policy, roles, and auditing are non-negotiable.

Balaji’s advice:

“Start small with pilots, focus on data quality and governance, and scale the automations that make it easier for partners to do business with you.”

Channelscaler’s organization changes also signal focus: a founder moving into the CTO role, new leadership across finance, sales and marketing, and a sharpened emphasis on partnerships as the growth lever.

Balaji’s remit is clear - enable the partners that matter, help them win, and the company wins with them. That people-first mindset, combined with targeted automation, is the playbook many partner teams should emulate.

If you work in alliances, channel ops, or partner programs, this conversation is practical and worth your time. You’ll come away with tactical examples you can test in weeks (not years) and a reminder that governance and data hygiene are the foundation under every successful AI roll-out.

We’re only at the start of the journey, but Balaji’s message is clear: make it meaningful, make it easy, and measure the results.

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