According to Canalys, ‘Champions’ show high levels of excellence in channel management compared with their industry peers while also improving their performance in the previous year and investing for the future.
Champions share some common characteristics, including a strategic commitment to driving growth through and with partners, investments in partner profitability and ease of doing business, a focus on program innovation and high levels of partner satisfaction.
In 2023, Schneider Electric rolled out a new, simplified partner program for its electrical/OT partners, and increased available incentives. It has also focused on refining specialisations for its partners across IT and critical infrastructure. Canalys specifically noted Schneider Electric’s commitment to channel partners, quality of account management and technical support and training. Partners consider Schneider Electric’s excellent in partner account management (PAM) “a huge asset” for both helping managing current business and identifying new business opportunities.
Canalys also highlighted Schneider Electric’s focus on sustainability, noting it is a key opportunity for partners, particularly helping customers to reduce energy consumption and emissions. “The award is a testament to our continued commitment to our partners and their success, and to excellence in channel management,” said David Terry, Vice President, IT Channels, Schneider Electric, Europe.
“We’re proud to be building strong and mutually ecosystem relationships, to be innovating our programs to help our partners decarbonise, and to be prioritising partner satisfaction at every step.”
In 2024 Schneider Electric will push even deeper into vertical and IoT opportunities, such as connected, powered devices in healthcare or smart buildings, opening up new discrete opportunities for partners.
“Over 76% of IT business in EMEA is delivered via the channel and an even greater proportion of customer investments are influenced by partners,” said Alastair Edwards, Chief Analyst at Canalys.
“Vendors across the technology industry are shifting to partner-led go-to-market models, recognising the importance of partners to drive scale, improve sales efficiency and deliver an enhanced customer experience. Vendor success is increasingly dependent on building and executing strategies that support a diverse partner ecosystem. Channel partners value their strong relationship with Schneider Electric, and recognise its focus on jointly driving future growth, supported by continuous improvements in programs and processes.”
The EMEA Titans Channel Leadership Matrix report assesses the EMEA channel performance of around 30 technology vendors with at least US$12 billion in global sales (over 25% delivered through partners) or between US$2 billion and US$12 billion in global sales (over 50% delivered through partners). A vendor’s position in the Canalys Leadership Matrix is based on channel partner feedback collected over the last 12 months via the Canalys Vendor Benchmark, recent performance metrics and an assessment of their channel performance and prospects by a panel of Canalys analysts.