Industry Perspective: Don't Fear Asking For Vendor Integrations

By Gennifer Biggs, Business Solutions magazine.

Every managed services provider (MSP) knows that when a customer has a particular need, solving that problem is key to winning or keeping business, even if it means stretching the limits of the services you usually provide. The same holds true for vendors. When an opportunity comes along that sheds light on what channel partners need, a vendor must be willing to accept that challenge. That is especially important today as MSPs deal with the convergence of technology in the IT industry, says Ginger Clay, director of marketing for Tigerpaw Software. As an IT management and automation software vendor, Tigerpaw is accustomed to working with other vendors, but typically those efforts revolve around the tools their channel partners need to monitor and manage a variety of technology solutions in an end user's environment. But sometimes a channel partner needs integration between the tools it uses inside its own business. "Our partners need vendors to work together to create a solution that is bigger than the sum of its parts," says Clay. "Vendors must listen to their channel partners so they can target the right kind of integration partners to achieve a seamless, all-connected business automation success story."

Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine.