ZINFI Technologies, Inc.

Smartsheet's Ecosystem Growth: Powered by PartnerOps Excellence

The dynamic world of enterprise software demands precision, strategy, and robust PartnerOps for scaling growth and managing complex partner ecosystems. This podcast delves into Smartsheet's meticulous approach to building, evolving, and optimizing its global partner network, revealing how a strong operational framework translates into tangible business success.

Join Sugata Sanyal, Founder and CEO of ZINFI, for an insightful discussion with Rachael Travis, Director of Global Programs at Smartsheet. Rachael shares her extraordinary journey from serving in the U.S. Army, including deployment in Afghanistan, to leading partner operations and channel strategy in corporate America. She provides a unique perspective on translating military-grade problem-solving and leadership principles into designing and executing effective partner programs. Discover how Smartsheet has strategically pruned and grown its partner base, leveraging data and innovation to meet evolving market demands.

Listen to the full episode now to gain actionable insights into developing a resilient and scalable partner operations strategy for your business!

Related Guidebook

PartnerOps Excellence: The Definitive Guide to Scalable SaaS Ecosystems

Build a PartnerOps function that delivers strategy, structure, and AI-driven execution across your partner ecosystem.

Download your COMPLIMENTARY COPY of PartnerOps Excellence: The Definitive Guide to Scalable SaaS Ecosystems Guide. Build a PartnerOps function that delivers strategy, structure, and AI-driven execution across your partner ecosystem.

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Video Podcast: Smartsheet's Ecosystem Growth: Powered by PartnerOps Excellence

✔ Chapter 1: From Military Leadership to Corporate Partner Strategy: A Unique Journey

Rachael Travis's journey into leading global partner programs at Smartsheet is deeply rooted in her six years of service in the U.S. Army by way of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Her time at West Point focused on honing leadership capabilities and building high-performing teams, skills she has carried forward throughout her career. A pivotal experience was her 15-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2007, during a challenging period when resources were primarily focused on Iraq. This environment demanded immense grit, creativity, and the ability to work across nations and diverse cultures to achieve a common mission, teaching her critical lessons in leading with empathy and collaborating under immense pressure.

Her military experience provided invaluable transferable skills for her civilian career in partner operations. One key lesson was the ability to break down large, ambiguous missions into smaller, bite-sized tasks that individual teams can execute against. This is particularly relevant in partnerships, which often present comprehensive, strategic concepts that must be translated into actionable plans. Furthermore, the military taught her how to build relationships and influence others without direct authority, a crucial skill in complex partner ecosystems where success relies on rallying diverse stakeholders around a shared vision.

The transition from managing physical logistics and equipment in the military to dealing with bits and bytes in a pure-play software world revealed that while the "widgets" are different, the underlying concepts and frameworks for problem-solving remain consistent. This includes planning, deploying the best resources, and optimizing for efficiency and effectiveness. Her consulting background, which followed her military service, further solidified her understanding of go-to-market strategies and customer-centric growth, laying the foundation for her channel and partner operations expertise.

✔ Chapter 2: Designing Strategic PartnerOps (Partner Operations): Effectiveness vs. Efficiency

A core principle in designing a partner operations framework is making trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency, a concept often visualized through a two-by-two matrix. This means deciding whether a task requires deep expertise and the ability to "look around the corner" (effectiveness) or streamlined, scalable execution (efficiency). For example, responsibilities related to program operations, such as channel capacity planning, program analytics, performance measurements, and compensation design, demand a high degree of expertise and focus on effectiveness. These areas require specialized knowledge to ensure continuous improvement and deliver value to the business.

Conversely, tasks like partner recruitment, onboarding, and deal desk management, particularly at scale, prioritize efficiency. These functions require highly efficient global coverage to manage significant partner volume if executed correctly. This strategic distinction informs how teams are built and structured, ensuring that individuals are focused on tasks that align with their strengths and the business's needs for either deep expertise or rapid scalability. The goal is to plug into broader company leadership and strategy, ensuring alignment across all organizational functions from sales to marketing.

Within Smartsheet's partner operations, Rachael over-indexes on the two ends of the spectrum: initial strategy and ultimate measurement of results. Significant time is spent ensuring the approach correctly aligns with the broader sales organization and that the partner program is designed to deliver on those strategic needs. Getting the strategic pieces right informs who the ideal partners are for recruitment and what enablement resources they need for successful onboarding. This front-end work then dictates who partner account managers should recruit and how new partners are onboarded through role-based training and consistent check-ins. The back-end focus on leading and lagging indicators helps assess the effectiveness of these programs, informing necessary adjustments to either the strategy or its implementation.

✔ Chapter 3: Smartsheet's Ecosystem Evolution: Pruning, Growth, and Specialization

Smartsheet's partner ecosystem has undergone a significant transformation over the past three and a half years, marked by a strategic "pruning" and subsequent growth. Initially, the ecosystem comprised approximately 800 partners, including traditional VARs, distributors, and solution/SI partners. However, a key realization was the need for partners who would proactively build a Smartsheet practice, focusing on implementation and actively selling software and generating their demand. This led to a bold decision to terminate about 60% of the partner base, reducing the active ecosystem to roughly 350 core, proactive, and high-producing partners.

Since then, Smartsheet has strategically grown its ecosystem back to approximately 775 partners with a more diversified and specialized composition since then. This expansion includes technology alliances, ISVs, developers, and new GSIs, recognizing the distinct and valuable roles each plays in the Smartsheet community. This evolution reflects a shift from a broad "anything is possible" approach, which boasted over 2,000 use cases, to a more focused strategy around specific investment areas like Project and Portfolio Management (PPM), PMO (Project Management Office), and digital transformation.

This strategic refocus has led to a bifurcation within the partner base. Some legacy partners prefer to continue serving the "flexible" use cases that Smartsheet has de-emphasized, filling that market gap and leveraging their generalist capabilities. Meanwhile, newer partners are much more specialized, either aligning with Smartsheet's core focus areas (e.g., becoming a PMO Center of Excellence for a specific industry) or focusing on process improvement and workflow automation for sectors like manufacturing. This specialization is a significant advantage for newer partners, making it easier for Smartsheet to proactively surface partners with specific expertise to customers and sellers using AI-powered tools.

✔ Chapter 4: Driving Behavior and Incentives: The Outcome-Based Approach

Smartsheet has fundamentally changed its incentive structure to align with the evolving roles and value partners provide, recognizing that the customer ultimately dictates how they buy. In the past, partners could be penalized if a deal they influenced was ultimately procured directly by the customer or through a different channel (e.g., SHI, Insight, or AWS). To address this, Smartsheet now tracks all partner activity on every opportunity in its Salesforce environment, categorizing it by whether the partner sourced, transacted, or merely influenced the deal.

Based on these roles, partners receive different financial incentives, including upfront discounts, commission fees, backend rebates, and other special performance funds (SPFs) designed to drive specific behaviors. This flexible approach ensures that the incentives are tailored to the partner's business model and their value to the ecosystem. Beyond financial rewards, Smartsheet also focuses on non-financial incentives, such as providing partners with exposure to more customers and packaging customer success stories into demand-generation assets they can use. This helps partners scale their business by providing valuable marketing collateral and access to new opportunities.

The organizational structure has also evolved to support this outcome-based approach. The initial small and "scrappy" team has matured, with roles and responsibilities now aligned to specific "jobs to be done." This includes growing the partner account management team to specialize in managing particular partner types (e.g., GSIs, VARs, distributors) and understanding their unique business models and engagement preferences. Additionally, Smartsheet has invested in a dedicated enablement function for partner training and troub

Second-Party Data: AI Unlocking Ecosystems

In the fast-evolving landscape of modern business, the strategic use of data is paramount for sustainable growth. This podcast dives deep into the power of second-party data and how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming its utility to unlock unprecedented opportunities within partner ecosystems. Discover how companies move beyond traditional data sources to leverage shared insights for competitive advantage and accelerated revenue.

Join Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, in an insightful discussion with Bob Moore, founder and CEO of Crossbeam. Bob shares his unique journey as a "data nerd" who built two successful SaaS companies in data analytics before founding Crossbeam, the world's leading platform for account mapping. He explains how Crossbeam helps companies compare their CRM data with partners while preserving privacy, which over 30,000 companies globally use. This conversation explores the evolution of data from first- and third-party to highly valuable second-party data and how AI is now a critical differentiator in leveraging these insights for more intelligent business decisions.

Listen to the full episode now to gain actionable insights into how second-party data and AI are reshaping the future of partner-driven growth!

Related Guidebook

Second-Party Data: AI Ecosystems Unlocking Best Practices

Your Essential Guide to Transforming Partnerships and Revenue Growth.

Download your COMPLIMENTARY COPY of Second-Party Data: AI Ecosystems Unlocking Guide. Your Essential Guide to Transforming Partnerships and Revenue Growth.

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Video Podcast: Second-Party Data: AI Unlocking Ecosystems

✔ Chapter 1: The Entrepreneurial Journey: A Foundation in Data Analytics

Bob Moore's entrepreneurial journey is deeply rooted in his background as a "data nerd," having studied computer science and operations research. His career began at a venture capital firm, Insight Partners, where he quickly recognized a significant gap: many highly successful businesses lacked sophistication in data analytics, struggling with concepts like customer lifetime value and cohort analysis. This observation led him to manually assist these companies in analyzing their data using SQL and Excel, eventually sparking the idea for his first company, RJ Metrics. Launched in 2008 with co-founder Jake Stein, RJ Metrics aimed to productize this analytical work, bringing "venture capital grade analytics" via SaaS to a broader audience. This early experience laid the groundwork for understanding how businesses could leverage their data more effectively.

The second company, Stitch Data, emerged directly from challenges observed at RJ Metrics. Businesses often had their data scattered across various systems, such as Shopify, inventory platforms, payment processors, and marketing automation tools like HubSpot or MailChimp. This fragmentation made it incredibly difficult for companies to consolidate data to answer complex business questions, like whether a marketing campaign led to refunds. We designed Stitch as an intuitive platform for extracting data from these disparate API endpoints and depositing it into a centralized data warehouse, coinciding with the rise of cloud data warehouses like Amazon Redshift and Snowflake. This low-friction product achieved rapid success, and Talend acquired it in 2018.

The experiences at Stitch, particularly the realization that Stitch was often purchased as part of a broader data stack (e.g., alongside Snowflake or Looker), directly led to the genesis of Crossbeam. This insight highlighted that the most qualified prospects for Stitch were those who had just invested in complementary technologies. The problem of effectively collaborating with these partners through traditional, flawed account mapping methods—involving manual spreadsheet exchanges with issues of oversharing and data quality—became evident. Furthermore, the ephemeral nature of valuable account mapping information meant that annual or quarterly updates were insufficient, leading to the vision for Crossbeam as a real-time, secure data escrow service.

✔ Chapter 2: Crossbeam's Core: Unlocking the Power of Second-Party Data

Crossbeam fundamentally addresses the challenge of securely comparing CRM data across company lines to identify overlaps in sales pipelines, target markets, and common customers. It functions as the world's leading platform for account mapping, designed to preserve data security and privacy by ensuring that only the right partner sees the correct data under specific conditions. This unique capability stemmed from Bob Moore's obsession with a "crossbeam problem" experienced at Stitch, where understanding partner overlaps was crucial for revenue but hindered by manual, inefficient processes. The platform acts as an "escrow service for data," pulling and transforming data from various systems of record, allowing companies to control what specific slices of data are shared with partners when certain conditions are met.

The adoption of Crossbeam within an organization often follows a distinct pattern, starting with partnership ecosystems teams. Its viral nature means that seven out of ten companies sign up after being invited by an existing user, making partnership teams instrumental in initiating its use due to their role as "social butterflies" and relationship owners. These teams are responsible for inviting partners and setting up data-sharing rules. However, as the platform becomes more integrated, it unlocks a valuable data layer that serves as a critical intelligence asset for the entire revenue team. This leads to a secondary persona: Chief Revenue Officers (CROs), sales managers, and individual sales representatives, who leverage this ecosystem data as a continuous source of signals about their accounts.

Crossbeam supports multiple "legs" or personas within an organization, providing a comprehensive view of partner ecosystems. For classic tech partnerships, the primary use case is prioritizing which partners are worth investing time in by assessing the overlap of customer bases and identifying if these overlapping customers are inherently better (e.g., higher ACV, lower churn). Within direct sales, Crossbeam helps accelerate deals and multi-thread opportunities and improve account prioritization by providing insights into complementary product usage and key contacts known by partners. For channel teams, it is invaluable in avoiding channel conflicts and facilitating better decisions earlier in the sales funnel by providing selective account mapping visibility.

✔ Chapter 3: Second-Party Data: The Proprietary & Actionable AI Frontier

Bob Moore firmly believes that network effects and network-effect-related businesses will be the crucial differentiator in the AI era, primarily because they generate a unique source of knowledge that large language models (LLMs) cannot replicate from publicly available internet data. He differentiates between three classes of data: third-party, first-party, and second-party. Third-party data, which includes publicly available information like email addresses or job titles, is rapidly being commoditized by AI tools, driving a "race to the bottom" in that industry. Though proprietary to an organization, first-party data is limited to existing customers and contacts, offering restricted "greenfield" growth opportunities.

The "holy grail" is second-party data – the knowledge partners possess and are willing to share, which is proprietary and unlocks new growth channels. This data exists within a "specialized walled garden" of interconnected partner ecosystems, accessible only through these collaborations. Partners know things that a company does not, creating new "vectors of potential action" that would otherwise be unavailable. This inherent proprietariness ensures that LLMs cannot simply scrape this data, making it a sustainable source of competitive advantage.

While powerful, the context we provide ultimately limits AI agents and co-pilots. The true differentiation in the AI era will come from the quality and relevance of this contextual data. Second-party data is the "holy grail" that pulls this all together, informing AI models on who to contact, how to message, how to prioritize, and how to execute sales and marketing strategies more effectively. This intersection of partnerships and AI is a "beautiful match," unlocking immense flexibility and value creation without requiring extensive custom programming of every use case. AI models are proving adept at ingesting unstructured or incorrectly structured data and reorganizing it on the fly, making second-party data more accessible and flexible for driving insights.

✔ Chapter 4: AI Applications: Prioritizing Atomic Actions for Strategic Impact

When considering the application of AI models to second-party data over the next 12-24 months, the strategic direction is likely to be driven more by end-user needs than by technological capabilities alone. Bob Moore suggests a "bottoms-up approach" is more effective, where we apply AI to "atomic units" of action before building up to broader strategies and campaigns. For instance, Crossbeam's Deal Navigator product dynamically prioritizes individual accounts for sales representatives by applying deterministic and AI-powered scoring algorithms at an atomic level. This involves analyzing thousands of accounts and rapidly contextualizing them with localized, walled-garden insights from partners.

The LLMs in this context receive finite,...

EQ + AI: The New Formula for Partner Ecosystem Success

In this episode of ZINFI’s podcast series, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, hosts Jason Glass, Global Head of Partner Sales at SugarCRM, for a deep dive into the next wave of innovation in the partner ecosystem. The two explore how emotional intelligence (EQ) and artificial intelligence (AI) are not just shaping go-to-market strategies but redefining leadership, operations, and revenue growth.

Jason shares insights from leading partner programs at industry giants like NetSuite, Oracle, and SugarCRM. The conversation highlights how human connection, technical fluency, and marketplace orchestration converge to create a new operating system for partner-led success.

Whether scaling a channel, rebuilding partner enablement, or navigating hybrid sales motions, this conversation is your blueprint for building a high-performing, AI-ready, EQ-driven partner ecosystem.

Related Guidebook

The Modern Partner Ecosystem

Discover how EQ and AI combine to transform leadership, operations, and growth in today’s partner-led, marketplace-driven ecosystem.

Download your COMPLIMENTARY COPY of The Blueprint for Revenue Leadership Guide. Discover how emotional and artificial intelligence converge to redefine partner ecosystems, enhancing leadership, operations, and growth strategies.

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Video Podcast: EQ + AI: The New Formula for Partner Ecosystem Success

✔ Chapter 1: From Direct Sales to Ecosystem Thinking

The episode opens with reflections on an early sales career at ADP and Epicor. In those early days, the focus remained almost exclusively on direct sales. Most organizations controlled the customer journey, and partner relationships appeared secondary or optional. The discussion highlights how this linear model fractured over time, giving way to a more holistic view where partner ecosystems play an essential role in modern go-to-market strategies. Simple reseller engagements evolved into diverse, dynamic models involving co-sell, marketplaces, and solution integrators.

The shift didn’t occur solely at an organizational level—buyer behavior played a significant role. With more access to information, buyers now demand flexibility, integrated solutions, and expert guidance throughout the journey. This behavioral shift pushed companies to diversify their routes to market and invest more deeply in partner ecosystems. Success no longer hinges on who owns the customer but on how multiple players collaborate to deliver consistent value across the lifecycle.

This opening segment establishes why traditional direct sales tactics no longer suffice. Leaders must now embrace partner ecosystems as a core strategic pillar. The era of linear pipelines and single-vendor dominance has ended. Companies that leverage the strength of their partner communities gain broader reach, richer insights, and faster time to market. The conversation transitions from isolated transactions to interconnected value creation, setting a compelling tone for the podcast's remainder.

✔ Chapter 2: EQ-Driven Partner Leadership in a Digital World

The conversation shifts to the rise of emotional intelligence (EQ) in partner sales leadership. Partner management once focused on operations—contracts, quotas, and enablement kits. As partner ecosystems became integral to success, interpersonal dynamics gained importance. Effective leaders now stay deeply attuned to the human side of partnerships. Trust, empathy, vulnerability, and active listening distinguish top-performing partner leaders from the rest.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a seismic shift when face-to-face interactions disappeared overnight. The screen replaced the boardroom, eliminating traditional cues like body language or hallway conversations. This shift exposed a critical gap in many partner organizations: the absence of EQ training and focus. Reading emotional cues and building virtual trust became essential in a remote-first environment. Those who embraced this change and adapted quickly were the most effective leaders.

EQ plays a strategic role in building resilient partner ecosystems. High-EQ leadership ensures partners feel heard, valued, and supported. Especially within complex ecosystems with diverse partner types, emotional awareness improves communication, conflict resolution, and alignment of priorities. This segment makes a strong case that the future of PRM (Partner Relationship Management) depends as much on emotionally intelligent interactions as it does on technology platforms.

✔ Chapter 3: AI-Powered Partner Enablement and Operations

The third segment turns to artificial intelligence (AI) and its transformative role in partner operations. The discussion introduces real-world tools—like Guidde and Slack—that revolutionize how vendors support and enable their partners. Weekly playbooks, AI-generated video guides, and automated workflows no longer represent futuristic dreams. These tools now form the foundation of modern ecosystems that must scale without sacrificing personalization. The fusion of EQ and AI delivers both structure and humanity.

AI tools now sit at the center of partner enablement and co-selling. Organizations can deploy custom, engaging education materials within days rather than months. Slack channels replace long email threads, while AI summarizes interactions, flags risks, and recommends next steps. This evolution allows partner managers to focus more on strategic planning and less on routine execution. Combining automation with human insight fuels clarity, acceleration, and sustainable growth for complex ecosystems.

However, automation alone cannot carry the load. Without emotional intelligence, AI tools become underutilized utilities. Successful enablement strategies anticipate partner needs, honor their time, and align with their goals. In today’s competitive landscape, vendors must consider partner performance metrics, motivation, energy, and vision. A thriving partner ecosystem relies on AI to handle the “how” and EQ to guide the “why.”

✔ Chapter 4: Designing Multi-Solution Plays in the Marketplace Era

The focus then turns to the pivotal role of marketplaces in driving ecosystem growth. Modern vendors must adopt a multi-party “value meal” strategy, co-creating offers with ISVs that match specific customer needs. Whether selling through AWS, Azure, or a private marketplace, success depends on forming joint value propositions. The “quad-party play” emerges as the direction for next-generation partner ecosystems.

Implementing this model demands technical readiness, flexible SKUs, and an operator mindset. Companies must move beyond static reseller frameworks and embrace dynamic orchestration. Vendors become solution architects, not just product promoters. Teams must understand APIs, integration logic, and buyer behavior to succeed. Marketplaces offer unparalleled scalability only when ecosystems support modularity and collective value creation.

Marketplaces operate not just as sales channels—but as nested ecosystems. True success stems from positioning strategically, aligning incentives, and removing procurement friction. Organizations must stop centering their product as the hero and instead co-create with complementary solutions. In this model, the partner ecosystem—not the product roadmap—defines a company’s competitive edge.

✔ Chapter 5: Servant Leadership, Partner Ops, and the Road Ahead

The final segment examines leadership and legacy. A career rooted in emotional intelligence and servant leadership underscores that partner ecosystems thrive when leaders shift from managing to serving. That means meeting partners at their level, adapting to different business models, and listening intently. This leadership style prioritizes humility and curiosity over control.

The broader transformation of the partner leader’s role becomes evident. Today’s ecosystem executive shapes culture interprets data, and bridges go-to-market functions with customer success. Continuous learning is a hallmark of outstanding leadership—learning from partners, teams, and internal reflection. These leaders operate at the intersection of metrics and meaning, balancing dashboards with deep, purpose-driven conversations.

The conclusion envisions a future where EQ and AI work hand in hand. These forces don’t compete—they complement. As change accelerates, leaders must build cultures rooted in agility, empathy, and empowerment. The episode ends with a powerful call to action: reimagine PRM not as a program but as a human-centered, technology-enabled movement led by emotionally intelligent strategists.

AI Disrupts Telecom Channel and Workforce Impact

In this high-energy episode, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, hosts Kameron Olsen, a seasoned telecom entrepreneur and expert in the TSD (Technology Solutions Distributor) ecosystem. Kameron brings two decades of experience in the telecom channel, covering everything from analog phones to SaaS-based UCaaS platforms. This insightful conversation explores how AI transforms customer experience and disrupts workforce models and operational dynamics.

They discuss the convergence between TSDs and MSPs, the evolution from CapEx hardware to OpEx cloud, and how telcos adapt to customer demands for cybersecurity and automation. With AI reshaping contact centers, sales models, and digital infrastructure, this episode delivers critical takeaways for anyone in the channel.

Listen in to understand why telecom's next wave of value lies in advisory-led, AI-powered ecosystems and how partners can lead in this shift.

Related Guidebook

Unified Communications: The Backbone of modern digital growth

Discover how telcos adapt to customer demands for cybersecurity and automation.

Download your COMPLIMENTARY COPY of Unified communications, cybersecurity, and channel convergence drive secure, scalable growth in today’s digital business landscape.

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Video Podcast: AI Disrupts Telcocom Channel and Workforce Impact

✔ Chapter 1: From Prem-Based Phones to the SaaS-Driven Telecom Channel

The discussion opens by tracing the transformation of telecom from its legacy roots in on-premise phone systems to a modern, cloud-driven, SaaS-enabled ecosystem. Telecom professionals who once focused on selling hardware have evolved into strategic channel leaders facilitating cloud-hosted communications. The shift from CapEx-heavy deployments to OpEx-friendly models marked the turning point—ushering in a new era where unified communications, voice over IP (VoIP), and managed services took center stage.

Cloud-hosted platforms replaced physical equipment, reducing upfront costs and allowing for flexible, scalable service delivery. Technology Services Distributors (TSDs) began to bundle connectivity, voice, collaboration, and mobility solutions, making it easier for advisors to deliver end-to-end communication services. These trusted advisors transitioned from box sellers to business problem solvers, managing provisioning, implementation, and contract renewals.

The discussion highlights how pivotal events—like 9/11—accelerated the need for infrastructure redundancy and disaster recovery. Enterprises, burned by data and communication outages, began prioritizing resilience. This urgency paved the way for cloud-first thinking well before the industry officially labeled it "digital transformation."

In today’s telecom channel, advisors do more than activate accounts or push products. They assess risk, craft continuity strategies, and offer a consultative layer around service architecture. This segment establishes the foundation for future topics like automation, AI, and convergence—demonstrating how the channel’s value has expanded beyond connectivity to encompass strategic business continuity.

✔ Chapter 2: COVID, Bandwidth Shifts, and the Rise of the Digital Workplace

The COVID-19 pandemic served as the ultimate stress test for global infrastructure. Practically overnight, organizations had to move entire workforces online. Everything—enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer support systems, virtual meetings, and online commerce—had to run over personal home networks. Telecom providers faced skyrocketing demand yet scaled rapidly due to years of investment in scalable, software-defined backends.

While end users dealt with the immediate challenge of staying connected—installing Zoom, rebooting routers, and sharing bandwidth—telecom systems rose to the occasion. Providers responded swiftly with innovations like AI-powered video conferencing tools, dynamic bandwidth allocation, and edge-based failover options. These solutions ensured reliability even under massive, unforeseen demand.

The conversation also explores subtle behavioral shifts, such as the widespread adoption of video etiquette, evolving work routines, and network performance changes during peak hours. These anecdotes support a larger insight: the telecom channel didn’t just survive the shift to remote work—it became a foundational pillar of the new workplace.

Channel partners facilitated more than service continuity. They guided customers through vendor selection, license allocation, support optimization, and roadmap planning. The pandemic revealed the critical nature of telecom advisors as enablers of transformation—not just suppliers but trusted consultants delivering scalable, secure, and future-ready solutions.

✔ Chapter 3: Cybersecurity, Resiliency, and the Expanding Role of the Advisor

As cloud adoption surged, so did the attack surface. Cybersecurity has become a top priority for businesses of every size. Advisors stepped into this role by guiding clients through HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOC 2 compliance frameworks. Telecom professionals who once focused solely on uptime began advising on ransomware mitigation, endpoint detection and response (EDR) and managed detection and response (MDR) integrations.

The conversation draws a connection between past and present—illustrating how spam prevention once defined telecom’s defensive stance and how that evolved into broader cybersecurity architecture. Advisors no longer wait for clients to ask for help—they proactively bring solutions that align with operational risks, audit requirements, and insurance mandates.

Channel partners increasingly operate as security architects, recommending layered solutions and embedding compliance into the communications stack. Their role now intersects IT, security, and compliance—requiring fluency in threat intelligence, risk management, and regulatory nuance.

This new profile transforms advisors from resellers to recurring value creators. Revenue models evolve from one-time commissions to monthly recurring revenue tied to consulting, auditing, and multi-year service agreements. Channel success now hinges on strategic thinking, industry knowledge, and the ability to own the client’s whole digital risk landscape.

✔ Chapter 4: Telco Convergence: From TSD to MSP and Back Again

The telecom landscape continues to evolve as TSDs and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) converge into overlapping roles. TSDs, traditionally focused on long-distance, mobile, and connectivity, now deliver UCaaS, cybersecurity, and cloud services. Meanwhile, once rooted in IT, MSPs have added telecom resale to their offerings, using TSDs as procurement engines and back-office support.

The boundaries blur further as both ecosystems expand into adjacent territory. Sales strategies, compensation models, and vendor relationships shift accordingly. Although cultural and technical differences still exist, integration is inevitable. Partners recognize that customers no longer differentiate between IT and telecom—they expect unified service from a single provider.

This convergence doesn’t just change who delivers what—it reshapes the vendor ecosystem. Aggregators, software vendors, and platform providers must adapt their programs to support hybrid reseller models. Success demands agility, cross-training, and vertical specialization. Those who bundle services effectively will dominate the next wave of channel growth.

The most successful organizations align internal teams, automate key functions, and deliver cross-functional insights that span multiple technologies. This moment represents a shift in service delivery and a reinvention of the entire partner ecosystem.

✔ Chapter 5: AI’s Role in Customer Experience and Workforce Realignment

AI is no longer a futuristic buzzword—it actively transforms how telecom providers deliver customer experience (CX) and manage teams. Enterprises deploy AI bots to handle thousands of support tickets, improving resolution time and consistency. These bots reduce cost while increasing accuracy, allowing human agents to focus on relationship-building and higher-order problem-solving.

The conversation points out how AI follows the trajectory of past innovations like personal computing. Instead of replacing jobs outright, AI repositions talent into more valuable roles. Forward-looking companies train their people for strategy, integration, and data analysis—rather than repetitive support functions.

Partners must move quickly to embed AI readiness into every operation layer. They must evaluate vendors for AI capabilities, retrain their teams, and adjust compensation and success metrics to reflect automation’s impact.

Organizations that delay will struggle to compete as the ecosystem shifts. The following 12 to 18 months will reward action. Those who embrace AI, rethink service models, and lead clients through change will define the next era of telecom success. The channel’s future belongs to advisors who combine human insight with machine precision to deliver intelligent, scalable, and adaptive customer experiences.

Telcocom Channel

How to Exponentially Scale the Value of Managed Service Providers Business

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI Partner Ecosystem Podcast, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, interviews Tim Conkle, Founder & CEO of The 20 MSP, to explore how managed service providers can scale effectively and profitably. Drawing from over three decades of experience, Tim walks us through transforming MSPs from 5-person shops to national powerhouses without losing agility or customer focus.

He shares how The 20 MSP model leverages standardization, brand building, and a simplified business approach to tackle three significant challenges: lead generation, sales execution, and operational scale. The episode provides a roadmap for MSP leaders looking to move beyond technical excellence and build resilient, scalable business infrastructure. Tim also outlines the leadership mindset required to transition from “king” to “wealth creator” and how to lead teams through cultural transformation.

Listen in to discover how MSPs can evolve, thrive, and dominate by doing less — but doing it better.

Related Guidebook

Scale Your Success: The Strategic Guide for Managed Service Providers Best Practices

Unlock Exponential Growth and Transform Your MSP Business.

Download your COMPLIMENTARY COPY of Scale Your Success: The Strategic Guide for Managed Service Providers Guide. Unlock Exponential Growth and Transform Your MSP Business.

Download for FREE

Video Podcast: How to Exponentially Scale the Value of Managed Service Providers

✔ Chapter 1: The Foundational Pillars of MSP Growth: Lead Generation, Sales, and Scale

Tim Conkle, Founder and CEO of The 20 MSP, opens the discussion by sharing his extensive journey in the IT industry, stretching back to 1992. He transparently recounts the early struggles of his company, Roland Technology, mirroring the challenges many Managed Service Provider businesses face in achieving substantial growth. Conkle identifies lead generation as his initial "Achilles heel," acknowledging that despite his strong sales abilities, consistently getting in front of potential clients proved difficult. His breakthrough came after years of refining a single, effective "oil well"—Google pay-per-click—which dramatically accelerated his company's expansion and highlighted the critical role of reliable demand generation for any aspiring MSP. This personal experience underscores the foundational importance of a robust marketing engine to initiate and sustain business development.

As Conkle began teaching other MSPs his successful lead generation strategies, he uncovered two further, equally critical challenges that many in the industry faced: the ability to close deals and the capacity for operational scale effectively. He cites examples of MSPs generating numerous appointments but failing to convert them into sales, or those who rapidly grew their revenue but saw no corresponding increase in profit because their internal operations could not keep pace with demand. This realization led him to conceptualize the "three-legged stool" of MSP success: lead generation, sales execution, and operational scale. Conkle argues that while technical knowledge and tools are abundant in the IT sector, successful businesses must first master these fundamental building blocks.

This more profound understanding of business fundamentals inspired Conkle to found The 20 MSP, based on a whiteboard idea 13 years ago. The name reflects his "better together" philosophy, drawing from the 80-20 rule, where the "20 percenters"—the high-performing individuals and companies—achieve far greater results when they collaborate. Conkle passionately articulates that a fragmented industry allows external entities to "mine the gold" that MSPs often overlook within their businesses. These high performers can strengthen the entire Managed Service Provider ecosystem by uniting and fostering a collective approach that prioritizes shared success over isolated competition, ultimately unlocking immense untapped value.

✔ Chapter 2: The Evolution of Managed Service Delivery and The 20 MSP's Unique Value Proposition

The discussion transitions into the profound evolution of the IT channel, moving from the antiquated "break-fix" model that dominated decades ago to the modern Managed Services approach. Conkle critically examines the inherent conflict of interest in the break-fix model, where a service provider profits when a client's systems fail—a direct contradiction to the client's desire for uninterrupted operations. He highlights how The 20 MSP pioneered a "true flat-rate" model, where labor is not an add-on, and the only way the MSP profits more is by ensuring the client's systems run perfectly, establishing accurate goal alignment. This innovative pricing strategy fundamentally redefines the relationship, shifting focus from reactive problem-solving to proactive prevention and optimized performance, thereby creating significantly more value for the Managed Service Provider and their customers.

Conkle further elaborates on The 20 MSP's distinctive "reverse-franchise" model, explaining how it enables small IT companies—often just five to ten people—to deliver services on par with a 500-person enterprise. This involves standardizing everything from tools and contracts to service delivery methods across a vast network of MSPs. This standardization allows members to access shared resources like a 24/7/365 US-based live answer help desk, specialized project teams, and a national footprint, which would be financially prohibitive for individual small businesses. The efficiency gained by having a unified system means quicker integration of new companies. The 20 MSP successfully integrated 37 companies in just 27 months, each within 60 days, showcasing the immense power of MSP standardization.

The conversation then focuses on The 20 MSP's ideal client profile, typically businesses with 50 to 1,000 employees or those with multiple locations. Conkle debunks the myth that larger networks are inherently more complex than smaller ones, asserting that fundamental IT infrastructure remains largely consistent, with only the scale and number of applications changing. This insight allows for a standardized service delivery model that benefits many clients. He passionately stresses that effective marketing is what truly differentiates The 20 MSP. He emphasizes that while technical competence is common, consistent and significant marketing and brand building investment is crucial for MSPs to be known, attract larger clients, and sustain long-term, organic growth in the highly competitive IT channel evolution.

✔ Chapter 3: Cultural Transformation and Visionary Leadership for Exponential Valuation

Tim Conkle introduces a revolutionary approach to sales, advocating for a "frictionless" process that prioritizes education over traditional, often intimidating, IT audits. He argues that prospects already know their systems have issues, rendering detailed audits redundant and potentially risky. Instead, his methodology focuses on helping clients make informed business decisions about their IT, guiding them to understand the inherent conflict in break-fix models versus the goal alignment of true managed services. This teaching-first approach builds trust and positions the Managed Service Provider as a strategic partner, not just a vendor, streamlining the sales cycle and leading to more effective conversions by addressing the client's core business needs rather than overwhelming them with technical jargon.

Conkle then delves into the challenging yet essential process of cultural transformation required for MSPs to scale, particularly the need for owners and teams to "unlearn" old habits and embrace new, standardized toolsets. He vividly illustrates this challenge with the analogy of a shovel versus a trencher, emphasizing that clinging to familiar but inefficient tools prevents growth, even if one is proficient. He introduces a metaphorical "mirror" as the only tool needed to diagnose a company's problems, asserting that the owner's mindset and willingness to change are the most critical factors determining growth. This highlights the crucial role of the entrepreneurial mindset MSP in driving organizational evolution.

Finally, Conkle emphasizes the foundational role of trust and a compelling, shared dream in visionary leadership. He differentiates between merely "working for a dollar"—which he calls "modern day slavery"—and building proper financial leverage and freedom through the MSP model. His ultimate dream for The 20 MSP is to create exponential value and economic autonomy for its members, demonstrating how the collective approach significantly increases business valuation (e.g., a 20x multiple for initial partners). By fostering an environment where leaders are transparent and partners share in the prosperity, Conkle inspires owners to transcend individual ego and embrace unity, revealing that being "together" fundamentally creates far more wealth and opportunity than remaining "separate" in the Managed Service Provider industry.

Vision to Velocity: A Systems Thinking Playbook for Scaling Startups

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI Partner Ecosystem Podcast, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, sits down with Bruce Eckfeldt —former architect turned entrepreneur and founder coach—to discuss how startup founders can apply systems thinking to scale effectively. Drawing from his background in design and coaching, Bruce unpacks the structural, psychological, and strategic components needed to transition from vision to operational velocity. Sugata and Bruce explore the key moments that challenge founders, the systems that support rapid scaling, and the leadership mindsets required for sustained growth. Whether facing growing pains or preparing for scale, this conversation provides a tactical and philosophical guide.

Tune in to learn how to scale your startup like a pro.

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Video Podcast: Vision to Velocity: A Systems Thinking Playbook for Scaling Startups

✔ Chapter 1: From Architecture to Entrepreneurship: Discovering Systems in Everything

The mindset of an architect revolves around understanding how structure influences function. That same principle applies powerfully in business—especially in scaling startups. Entrepreneurs who approach their business with a systems mindset quickly gain an advantage. They recognize that structure is not a constraint but a blueprint for success. As architects design spaces that shape behavior, startup leaders must design workflows, feedback loops, and decision-making structures that shape organizations' operations and growth.

Founders in early-stage startups often drive growth through passion, product innovation, and relentless hustle. As the company scales, complexity grows with it. Fast decisions, informal communication, and gut instincts that once fueled success now create risk. To sustain growth, scaling startups must replace instinctive chaos with structured clarity. They must embrace systems thinking as an essential survival skill.

Adopting a systems perspective allows founders to shift focus from fighting fires to building fireproof operations. They start to see their companies not as a collection of tasks but as interdependent systems: marketing connects to sales, sales connects to success, and success connects to retention and expansion. Every touchpoint becomes an opportunity for design and optimization. The power of this shift lies in its scalability. Startups grow not by doing more of the same but by building repeatable, reliable processes that elevate performance across teams.

This section highlights that the best scaling startups don’t just develop great products—they build great systems around those products. They understand that customer experience, team dynamics, and operational rhythm require intentional design. Founders who think like systems architects build organizations that are not only innovative but sustainable.

✔ Chapter 2: Coaching Founders: Letting Go to Scale Up

One of the most significant challenges for founders in scaling startups is learning to let go. At a certain point—often between $1M and $5M in revenue—the founder must stop being the hero and start being the architect. That means designing the company so that it can operate independently of any individual, including themselves.

This transition can be emotionally and operationally complex. Founders often equate personal involvement with quality. But clinging to every decision, every problem, every meeting creates bottlenecks that stifle growth. The next stage of leadership requires a shift from control to empowerment. Founders must build systems that enable others to succeed—systems for onboarding, goal-setting, performance tracking, and feedback.

Coaching becomes critical in this phase. Coaches help founders detach their ego from daily execution and refocus on building infrastructure. Scorecards, accountability frameworks, and cadence rituals become tools for alignment. Founders, once managed by the gut, began managing by data. This shift creates space for the founder to think strategically and develops leaders across the organization.

For scaling startups, this is the tipping point between chaos and clarity. Organizations that fail to mature their systems often stall. Those who leap create high-trust, high-performance cultures where teams operate with autonomy and alignment. The ability to delegate confidently stems directly from the strength of the underlying systems. Coaching helps founders cross that chasm—from reactive operator to proactive architect of scale.

✔ Chapter 3: Designing Feedback Loops and Operating Rhythms for Growth

Execution is where vision meets reality, and for scaling startups, execution must be consistent, measurable, and adaptable. The key lies in feedback loops and operating rhythms—structured systems that help teams stay aligned, accountable, and focused. Daily standups provide visibility into short-term priorities. Weekly reviews track performance and remove obstacles. Quarterly strategic resets allow the team to recalibrate against long-term goals.

Startups that lack rhythm tend to grow in unsustainable bursts—spiking in activity before burning out or breaking down. In contrast, those that build structure into their operations sustain momentum. Rhythm creates predictability. When leaders clearly define decision timelines, performance metrics, and escalation paths, teams move more confidently and quickly.

Leaders embed feedback loops into product updates, customer feedback, team retrospectives, and partner insights—not just performance reviews. These loops drive the continuous learning that fast-moving startups need to adapt and grow. When leaders combine feedback with rhythm, they establish a cadence of improvement and reinforce a culture of responsiveness and accountability.

Leaders must champion these systems directly. Founders cannot delegate the operating model—they must define the tone, engage in the cadence, and adjust it as the organization evolves. In scaling startups, rhythm acts as the organizational heartbeat. It clarifies priorities, channels energy, and accelerates decision-making.

This is not about bureaucracy—it’s about liberation. The more structured the system, the more freedom teams have to innovate. Great startups don’t fight complexity with hustle; they manage it with systems. And the founders who understand this become the architects of lasting success.

Scaling Partner Ecosystems with Strategy, Programs & PartnerOps

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI PartnerOps Podcast series, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, speaks with Kristin Carnes, Vice President of Global Channel Programs & Operations at Netskope, about the critical role of PartnerOps in scaling global partner ecosystems. With over a decade of experience in high-growth security companies, Kristin offers tactical insights into how operations, strategy, and programs converge to enable scalable partner success.

From foundational alignment to advanced automation, Kristin outlines her phased approach to building a robust partner ecosystem—starting with structured PartnerOps systems and evolving toward AI-powered infrastructure. Whether you’re leading partner operations at a startup or a global enterprise, this conversation delivers strategic takeaways and practical frameworks for building resilient, high-performance partner programs.

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Video Podcast: Scaling Partner Ecosystems with Strategy, Programs & PartnerOps

✔ Chapter 1: Standardizing PartnerOps at Scale

When Netskope began formalizing its global partner operations, it quickly became clear that the absence of a standardized framework led to fragmented regional approaches. Each geography operated in silos, resulting in inconsistent partner experiences and inefficiencies across the channel ecosystem. The organization’s first significant strategic move was to launch a globally tiered partner program that unified discounting policies, deal registration processes, and partner classification standards.

This initiative brought equity to the partner experience and embedded operational rigor directly into pricing and quoting systems. By aligning systems and PartnerOps functions, Netskope established a scalable foundation—demonstrating that operational discipline is not a backend process but a strategic pillar for successful channel execution.

Once the structure was in place, the next focus was enforcing it across systems. The company addressed issues like poor partner data quality and fragmented contract management within platforms like Salesforce. Leaders introduced mandatory contract uploads, validated partner records, and rolled out consistent workflows—transforming data into a strategic asset and building cross-functional alignment. The result is clearer insights, stronger segmentation, and a unified PartnerOps function that supports global growth.

Another critical element was guiding regional teams through operational change. The approach prioritized empathy, communication, and a clear value proposition tied to data-driven outcomes. Leaders navigated entrenched legacy processes with sensitivity, presenting a future vision centered on scalability and improved partner outcomes. The lesson: PartnerOps isn’t just about automation—it’s about aligning people, processes, and platforms for global impact.

✔ Chapter 2: Expanding Routes to Market through Operational Agility

As Netskope’s channel matured, PartnerOps evolved from internal cleanup to strategic expansion. The team enabled new go-to-market pathways, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), telcos, and Global Systems Integrators (GSIs). Each route to market required unique support structures—from onboarding workflows and service enablement to tailored contracts and compliance protocols.

This expansion was possible only because foundational PartnerOps systems were already in place. Rather than building from scratch for each partner type, the existing architecture flexed to support new motions. MSPs benefited from service automation modules, telcos from tailored contract oversight, and GSIs from project-based tracking integrations.

By adapting PartnerOps to meet segment-specific needs without disrupting current operations, Netskope maintained efficiency while expanding its reach. These efforts demonstrated that PartnerOps isn’t just a back-office function—it’s a lever for strategic growth. The team effectively bridged innovation and execution, allowing the company to embrace ecosystem-led growth without compromising brand consistency or compliance standards.

In a market where partner diversity continues to rise, the ability to integrate new models into an existing framework offers a potent competitive edge. Scalable infrastructure, automated processes, and programmatic clarity transformed PartnerOps into a key driver of expansion.

✔ Chapter 3: Scaling PartnerOps with AI and Automation

With partner ecosystems becoming increasingly complex, Netskope integrated automation and AI to extend the efficiency and effectiveness of its PartnerOps function. The organization deployed AI-powered tools within the partner portal to enable self-service onboarding, automate responses to FAQs, and reduce ticket resolution time.

These tools dramatically increased team productivity by minimizing manual effort and redirecting human resources toward higher-value partner engagement and strategic tasks. AI also improved the consistency and speed of decision-making, allowing the organization to scale confidently.

Beyond support automation, AI influenced how the team approached recruiting, enablement, and data analysis. Automated drafting of job descriptions, summarization of partner data, and performance tracking allowed faster hiring cycles and enhanced visibility. AI-powered personalization elevated the partner experience—reducing ramp-up time and improving satisfaction.

Critically, the organization positioned AI as a tool to augment—not replace—PartnerOps professionals. Human oversight remained essential for designing strategy, managing change, and navigating complex relationships. The takeaway: automation doesn’t remove the need for leadership—it empowers it, allowing leaders to scale thoughtfully while maintaining agility and operational excellence.

✔ Chapter 4: Applying PartnerOps Across Growth Stages

PartnerOps plays a critical role across all growth phases from startup to enterprise. Early-stage companies should begin by defining partner profiles and resisting the urge to over-engineer programs. Lightweight efforts—such as basic deal registration and simple CRM integrations—help establish foundational habits that support future scale.

As companies reach mid-market maturity, the role of PartnerOps becomes more formalized. Structured partner tiers, consistent discounting models, and clearly defined KPIs become essential. At this stage, automation, data analytics, and ROI tracking support more innovative recruitment, enablement, and decision-making. The objective is to scale without unnecessary complexity—ensuring operational rigor without alienating partners.

At the enterprise level, expansion becomes paramount. PartnerOps must support new partner types, international expansion, and ongoing adaptability. This phase requires more robust systems and alignment between field, marketing, finance, and channel teams. Despite variations in tools and tactics, the foundational principles—alignment, scale, and strategic intent—remain constant.

Whether building a partner motion from scratch or refining a mature ecosystem, PartnerOps must serve as both the foundation and the catalyst for growth. A consistent framework ensures that partner strategy remains cohesive, measurable, and agile through every stage.

✔ Chapter 5: The Human Side of PartnerOps Leadership

Systems and strategies form the infrastructure of PartnerOps—but leadership, empathy, and change management shape its success. Standardizing global operations often involves deconstructing long-held regional practices. Successful change requires trust, transparent communication, and inclusive decision-making. Teams are more likely to embrace transformation when they understand its purpose and feel heard.

Leadership also plays a pivotal role in shaping PartnerOps' culture. Today’s partner leaders need more than process mastery—they need the courage to challenge the status quo, advocate for strategic innovation, and foster a culture of continual learning. Navigating ambiguity, embracing calculated risk, and cultivating cross-functional collaboration are critical traits in fast-evolving partner environments.

Looking ahead, AI and automation will continue to streamline execution, but the strategic value of human insight remains irreplaceable. The most successful partner leaders will blend technical fluency with emotional intelligence—guiding their teams through complexity while preserving empathy, clarity, and shared purpose.

PartnerOps isn’t just about processes or platforms—it’s about people aligned with purpose and empowered to build ecosystems that scale with intention and resilience.

The Future of Managed Service Providers in the Age of AI and Automation

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI Podcast series, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, welcomes Erick Simpson, an MSP industry veteran and thought leader, to discuss the radical evolution of Managed Service Providers (MSP) and the pivotal role of AI and automation in shaping their future. Drawing from his two-decade journey in the MSP world, Erick provides a masterclass on transforming from break-fix support to strategic, consultative, subscription-based services.

The conversation traces key turning points—like the rise of remote monitoring, vendor management innovation, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic—while focusing on what lies ahead. From smart dispatch to agentic AI, this episode breaks down the tools, tactics, and team transformations defining modern MSPs.

Whether you're a vendor, systems integrator, or partner program leader, this discussion delivers actionable insights into where MSPs have been, where they are now, and how they can navigate what’s next in a world increasingly shaped by automation and intelligence.

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✔ Chapter 1: The Rise of Managed Services and the Shift to Recurring Models

The discussion opens with a look into the foundational era of Managed Service Providers (MSPs), spotlighting the dramatic shift from traditional break-fix support to flat-rate, bundled services. In the mid-2000s, the industry was still defining itself. Offering IT support through a recurring subscription model was considered radical—especially to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) accustomed to paying per hour for troubleshooting. Many MSPs faced skepticism from price-sensitive clients who viewed long-term commitments with caution. Yet this transition laid the groundwork for a scalable, predictable service delivery model.

As the MSP model matured, service providers began refining their value proposition. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools, automated patching, and dedicated helpdesk software became essential to delivering consistent, reliable IT support. Equally important was the evolution of vendor management—MSPs began solving not just technical problems with client-owned infrastructure but also coordinating across third-party solutions to streamline IT environments. This holistic approach—combining helpdesk operations, proactive monitoring, and third-party vendor liaison—became the industry standard and repositioned MSPs from reactive troubleshooters to strategic business enablers.

In those early days, go-to-market strategies were often reactive, and the vendor landscape was underdeveloped. Unlike today’s mature distributor ecosystems with tiered pricing and partner enablement resources, early MSPs struggled with one-size-fits-all licensing and little room for scalability. Despite these limitations, thought leaders and industry pioneers established frameworks that educated the market. Through boot camps, events, and dedicated training initiatives, these early contributors helped guide over 30,000 MSPs globally—establishing best practices for service packaging, delivery optimization, and revenue modeling. These efforts laid a strong foundation for a resilient and highly adaptable sector.

✔ Chapter 2: COVID-19: The Tipping Point for MSP Maturity

The onset of COVID-19 marked a defining moment for the managed services industry. As businesses worldwide rapidly transitioned to remote work, IT departments—particularly within mid-market and enterprise organizations—found themselves underprepared and overstretched. MSPs seized the opportunity to demonstrate their agility and value. They rapidly deployed remote access solutions, secured VPNs, and co-managed IT services to fill critical gaps.

This period validated the MSP model. Previously hesitant enterprise clients began turning to service providers they once overlooked. The crisis ignited a broader industry shift: distributors rolled out MSP-friendly pricing models, vendors accelerated the development of remote management capabilities, and platforms like ConnectWise and Kaseya expanded enablement programs. Formerly SMB-focused MSPs were stepping into larger, more complex enterprise roles—serving as strategic allies rather than outsourced support.

Perhaps most importantly, the human response stood out. Many MSPs supported struggling clients—especially nonprofits and small businesses—by offering reduced rates, deferred billing, or even pro bono services. This empathy built deeper, trust-based relationships that endured well beyond the crisis. The pandemic also accelerated a philosophical shift from project-based income to recurring revenue models, with providers embracing consultative selling and lifecycle-based engagement. COVID didn’t just challenge the managed services framework—it strengthened it, reinforcing MSPs as mission-critical partners in an era of rapid digital transformation.

✔ Chapter 3: AI, Automation & the Road Ahead for Managed Service Providers

As they look to the future, industry leaders identify artificial intelligence and automation as the next significant wave of transformation. Although AI continues to generate buzz, enterprises adopt it slowly—less than 6% of proof-of-concepts (POCs) reach production. Still, MSPs are uniquely positioned to lead this shift by applying AI to practical, revenue-driven use cases.

Among the most impactful innovations are “agentic AI”—automated systems capable of handling basic IT tickets, password resets, and common requests with minimal human involvement. These tools not only improve response time and customer experience but also drive significant reductions in cost per ticket. MSPs that embrace such technologies can scale more efficiently while freeing human talent for complex, higher-value problem-solving.

From a workforce perspective, the future is not about replacing technicians with machines—it’s about upskilling. MSPs retain institutional knowledge, reduce churn, and improve team engagement by training existing engineers to work alongside AI. This hybrid model of innovative tools plus skilled professionals represents the optimal path forward. AI doesn’t replace talent—it amplifies it, transforming service delivery from routine support to strategic advisory.

The discussion concludes with a forward-looking roadmap. Metrics like resolution time, CSAT, utilization, and technician profitability will define success, mirroring performance benchmarks used by SaaS organizations. The ecosystem will continue evolving, with AI embedded in core systems such as RMM, PSA, and ticketing platforms. To remain competitive, MSPs must foster feedback loops with vendors, adopt a mindset of continuous experimentation, and embrace automation as a catalyst—not a threat. The future belongs to MSPs who elevate their role from service provider to strategic cornerstone of the digital enterprise.

Building Scalable, Trust-Driven Partner Ecosystems

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI Partner Ecosystem Podcast, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, is joined by Bryn Jones, Co-founder and CEO of PartnerStack. Together, they explore the evolution of partner ecosystems and how trust, transparency, and scalable infrastructure redefine the future of B2B partnerships.

Bryn shares PartnerStack’s 10-year journey—from building a basic affiliate tool to becoming a global ecosystem platform that powers modern partner relationship management (PRM). He discusses the shift in market perception, especially post-COVID, the rise of partner onboarding networks, the complexity of partner incentives, and how PartnerStack uses AI and data to match the right vendors with the right partners.

With compelling insights into the challenges of fraud, global payments, and network-building, this episode is a must-listen for partnership leaders.

Tune in to discover how modern PRM platforms are scaling trust and driving partner-led growth.

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✔ Chapter 1: The Genesis of a Partner Ecosystem

Bryn Jones’s path to Partner Relationship Management was anything but typical. Starting as a competitive swimmer on Canada’s national team, Bryn shifted gears during graduate school when he discovered a passion for technology and entrepreneurship. His first venture, a nonprofit collaboration platform called Pod, unintentionally led him to the world of partnerships. A simple “refer-a-friend” feature became that business's most effective growth tool—prompting him to realize the untapped potential of affiliate-driven go-to-market models.

In 2015, after conversations with Shopify’s early partnerships team and a successful pitch to Y Combinator, Bryn co-founded PartnerStack with a mission to transform how software is sold. The platform began as a basic referral tool but evolved into a full-fledged ecosystem management solution, addressing critical gaps in partner tracking, payout integrity, and top-of-funnel enablement.

Today, Bryn leads PartnerStack as it powers thousands of B2B SaaS partner programs with scalable affiliate marketing infrastructure. His approach has been rooted in trust, transparency, and the belief that partner ecosystems are not just a sales channel—but a strategic, data-driven growth engine. From athlete to ecosystem architect, Bryn’s journey underscores the importance of curiosity, resilience, and long-term vision in building the future of PRM.

✔ Chapter 2: The Evolution of SaaS Partnerships and Ecosystem Management

PartnerStack’s early launch in 2015, tagged “get paid for recommending products you love,” quickly revealed a deeper market gap: B2B companies lacked infrastructure to support partner relationships. A turning point came when a partner reported $60,000 in unpaid commissions, highlighting the urgent need for financial transparency. This led PartnerStack to evolve beyond simple referrals, integrating affiliate marketing technology into a robust, commission-based platform that prioritized cash payouts and partner trust—distinguishing it from competitors focused on gift card incentives.

From 2015 to 2020, the idea of partnerships faced VC skepticism, with direct sales favored as the only scalable model. That changed abruptly with COVID-19, as lockdowns forced companies to find new paths to market. Partnerships became essential for reach, customer retention, and efficient growth—validated by SaaS leaders like HubSpot and Shopify, whose ecosystems drove significant revenue.

Beyond the pandemic, Product-Led Growth (PLG) emerged as a third wave, redefining partners as integrators and influencers, not just resellers. This shift expanded the partner definition to include review sites, consultants, and content creators—demanding new tools to manage these ecosystems. PartnerStack responded by building a platform for scalable, transparent, full-lifecycle partner management across this modern landscape.

✔ Chapter 3: Scaling Success and the Future of Partner Operations

PartnerStack has evolved into a robust ecosystem management platform centered on demand generation through top-of-funnel partnerships, including affiliates, influencers, and referral partners. These partners—from review sites and podcasts to consultants and forums—use tracked links to drive leads and revenue. The platform’s strength lies in seamless tracking, attribution, and global payouts. Since COVID-19, a network vision has matured into a core business engine, distinguishing PartnerStack from traditional PRM systems. Rather than offering custom portals, it operates as a distribution ecosystem, helping vendors discover and activate new high-value partners.

As an "honest broker," PartnerStack ensures partner authenticity, tracks traffic sources, flags fraud, and facilitates tax-compliant payments across dozens of currencies and countries. It supports the full partner lifecycle, from marketing qualified leads to upgrades and usage-based rewards—building trust and long-term value.

Looking ahead, PartnerStack is scaling to serve larger, more complex enterprises. Like Salesforce for CRM, it aims to be the unified platform for managing specific partner types. While it won’t offer deep workflow customization, it remains focused on core strengths: scalable demand gen and financial integrity. With AI, PartnerStack plans to enhance partner matching and optimize investment in successful partnerships, fueling exponential ecosystem growth.

Hyperscalers, ISVs, and AI: Shaping the Future of B2B Software Distribution

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI Partner Ecosystem Podcast, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, sits down with John Jahnke, CEO of Tackle.io, to explore how hyperscalers, ISVs, and AI are redefining the way B2B software is sold, bought, and scaled. With cloud marketplaces experiencing explosive growth and co-sell motions becoming essential to partner success, John provides a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of go-to-market strategies and why traditional software sales must evolve. From enabling partner ecosystems to automating co-sell workflows with hyperscaler field teams, the conversation unveils key trends that every partner leader should be watching.

This podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to thrive in the cloud commerce era, where hyperscalers act as the new distribution layer, AI drives scalability, and ISVs unlock unprecedented growth.

Tune in now to understand where B2B software distribution is headed and how to stay ahead.

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✔ Chapter 1: Partner Programs and Hyperscalers as the New Fulfillment Engine

Partner programs are entering a new era shaped by hyperscalers' disruptive influence. Cloud giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud have moved well beyond their origins in infrastructure. They now play an integral role in enterprise software procurement by transforming their marketplaces into frictionless fulfillment engines.

These marketplaces are becoming the default procurement channels for large enterprises. Why? Because they simplify software acquisition, align with pre-approved cloud budgets, and eliminate lengthy legal and procurement cycles. Enterprises are eager to streamline vendor onboarding, consolidate billing under existing cloud commitments, and access software that integrates directly with their operational environments. Hyperscalers offer all of that—and more.

For independent software vendors (ISVs), this shift is profound. Instead of navigating multi-month procurement processes, they can now sell directly into cloud environments, embedded into workflows where buyers are already transacting. This dramatically accelerates time-to-revenue and increases internal alignment with customer procurement and finance teams.

Hyperscalers have also activated massive co-sell programs, leveraging extensive field organizations that support partners throughout the sales cycle. This makes them more than distributors—they are now strategic GTM partners, capable of influencing the pipeline, unlocking new buyers, and amplifying brand visibility. This dynamic represents a new distribution layer that enables direct, scalable, and repeatable revenue generation.

Innovative ISVs capitalize on this transformation by listing their products early on hyperscaler marketplaces, gaining quick wins and internal momentum. These early transactions often serve as proof points that build organizational confidence and stakeholder buy-in. Over time, they generate a flywheel effect, making cloud marketplaces central to the partner program strategy.

Success in this environment depends on more than simply listing a product—it requires active orchestration. Organizations must implement automation, integrate systems, and deploy partner-ready tools to manage complex co-sell motions, private offers, and buyer journeys. Those who build intelligent, data-driven infrastructure around hyperscaler go-to-market strategies position themselves to lead in the evolving partner economy.

✔ Chapter 2: Partner Programs Driving a Rethink of the ISV Go-To-Market Model

The rise of hyperscaler marketplaces has forced ISVs to rethink their go-to-market models completely. No longer can companies rely on siloed sales teams, traditional licensing structures, or outdated procurement assumptions. Modern buyers prefer software solutions aligned with their existing cloud relationships, finance teams prefer centralized billing, and IT departments demand seamless integration.

This has catalyzed a structural shift across the ISV ecosystem. Cloud marketplaces are no longer just an additional channel but a strategic core. ISVs are now aligning their entire sales motion to leverage these platforms: adjusting pricing models, building new revenue operations systems, designing cloud-native incentives, and enabling field teams to co-sell alongside hyperscalers.

This transition goes beyond technology—it reshapes company culture. Leading organizations embed marketplace strategy into every layer of their operations. Sales, marketing, customer success, finance, and product teams realign to support high-velocity, cloud-integrated selling motions. Leaders rewrite commission plans to include cloud marketplace deals and adapt packaging to match how customers prefer to consume. They shift success metrics from traditional revenue benchmarks to co-sell engagement, partner influence, and alignment with cloud adoption goals.

To support this scale, partner programs must evolve. Modern ISVs must coordinate co-sell activities across hyperscaler platforms like AWS ACE, Microsoft CPOR, and Google Cloud Partner Advantage. This means managing dozens—sometimes hundreds—of opportunities, sellers, and timelines in parallel. Tools and platforms that enable automated co-sell orchestration, real-time tracking, and cross-functional transparency are not optional—they are vital.

A successful partner program in this landscape rests on four pillars:

Marketplace Automation – Streamlining listing, offer creation, and fulfillment processes.

Co-Sell Execution – Coordinating joint selling motions across cloud field teams.

Buyer Intent Data – Surfacing real-time insights to target the proper accounts.

CRM Integration – Ensuring visibility across the pipeline, sales stages, and partner attribution.

These pillars enable ISVs to drive faster deal cycles, enhance partner collaboration, and scale revenue with precision. It’s no longer enough to sell cloud-ready software. The future belongs to those who build partner programs that deal through, with, and inside the cloud.

✔ Chapter 3: AI and Automation Powering the Next Generation of Partner Programs

As hyperscaler ecosystems grow more complex, AI and automation are becoming mission-critical for successful partner programs. With marketplaces projected to represent 20–25% of B2B software sales in the next few years, organizations need scalable systems to handle co-sell execution, partner collaboration, and performance insights at enterprise velocity.

AI is the enabler. AI tools can automate repetitive tasks, enhance partner recommendations, and optimize GTM strategies by analyzing real-time data across cloud marketplaces, CRM systems, and co-sell programs. For example, AI can:

Score partner-influenced opportunities based on the likelihood to close

Recommend the best co-sell path for a specific deal or geography

Identify the right cloud seller for engagement

Forecast partner performance trends to preempt churn or stagnation

These capabilities allow sales and alliance teams to focus less on data wrangling and more on strategic execution.

AI streamlines key partner lifecycle moments by automating the creation and management of private offers, accurately attributing revenue across cloud and ISV teams, and coaching reps with contextual insights. This automation shortens cycle times, strengthens co-sell alignment, and boosts productivity across the ecosystem.

Perhaps most importantly, AI empowers partner programs to become proactive rather than reactive. Instead of waiting for quarterly reviews or missed quotas to diagnose problems, ISVs can act on early signals and intervene when it matters most. AI-powered dashboards give visibility not just into what happened but what is likely to happen—and what to do about it.

Automation also plays a critical role in helping partner ecosystems scale globally. As co-selling expands across geographies, verticals, and partner tiers, managing the orchestration manually becomes untenable. With the right automation strategy, ISVs can replicate success models across cloud marketplaces, enforce global consistency, and localize where needed—all without bottlenecks.

In short, organizations that treat AI and automation as core pillars of their partner program infrastructure will future-proof their channel. Those who don’t will be left navigating complexity with outdated playbooks. As the software economy shifts toward cloud-native, co-sell-first models, automation isn’t just a productivity boost—it’s a strategic imperative.