For channel partners to gain an edge on the competition, they need to work with their owned first-party data, says Scott Van Valkenburgh, senior vice president – global alliances & channels leader at Alteryx.
According to recent research, 97% of IT channel partners view data as crucial in achieving their growth and digital transformation ambitions. Becoming more data-driven, however, is easier said than done.
To gain a competitive edge, channel partners must move beyond a dependence on third-party data such as market research data and purchased data sets to instead work with their owned, first-party data. The shift will enable partners to apply data in ways that are specific to their actual customers and current behaviour patterns for more impactful outputs.
Once first-party data is consolidated, channel partners can put this data ‘to work’ and deliver insights at speed with automated analytics. Done right, this approach transforms vast amounts of disparate data sets into a highly lucrative 360-degree view of their customer base to drive informed and tailored decision-making. It also sets partners on a path to unlocking AI use cases.
How consolidation creates new opportunities to work with data
For channel partners to capitalise on first-party data, they must establish a holistic view by pulling data points related to customers and competitors into an analytics automation solution. This means aggregating raw customer data across cloud and on-prem environments, including insights into customer interactions, feedback and support history. Channel partners can also pull in website and app analytics to access user behaviour, navigation patterns and engagement data.
Collating data is an important step. Putting it to work and feeling the benefits, however, requires channel businesses to prioritise efforts to upskill employees so they feel confident using data in their day-to-day roles. Rolling out analytics solutions with low or no-code interfaces to analyse data and build automated workflows ensures this process is accessible to as many employees as possible – not just those with coding expertise or who sit in an analyst role.
Intuitive tooling makes self-serve analytics possible. But it needs to be supplemented with efforts to establish a culture of data literacy to interpret the data and unlock valuable insights from it.
The importance of change management and education
To foster a culture of data literacy, channel partner organisations should focus on developing customised learning paths that align with employees’ roles and existing skills. These paths should be supplemented with ‘always-on’ training and support to further enhance data literacy and proficiency with analytical tools.
But to ensure organisational buy-in to such a culture, channel businesses need executive support in championing data initiatives and encouraging decision-making based on data insights across all levels of the organisation. They also need to ensure they allocate the necessary resources that will lead to better outcomes and unlock commercial opportunities through improved go-to-market strategies.
After laying these foundations, channel partners must ensure they have the governance in place to steer the right use cases and avoid ineffective implementation. Beginning with pilot projects designed to demonstrate value in ‘quick wins’ before gradually scaling initiatives organisation-wide is most likely to result in success. Establishing robust data governance practices is important to maintain the accuracy and consistency of analytics outputs.
Eyes on the AI prize
Many channel partners are considering how they can seize advantages from the myriad enterprise AI breakthroughs seen over the past two years. The truth is that channel businesses with data-literate workforces are the best placed to input high-quality data into AI systems and pick up and run with this.
Once set up with internal generative AI models and advanced analytics, channel partners can provide enhanced service offerings, utilising AI-driven insights, and more personalised and effective solutions to customers. This opens additional revenue opportunities. After all, there’s no better way for channel businesses to position themselves as the best technology partner in the new AI-driven intelligence era than having integrated the technology into their own business.
Generative AI also enables channel partners to enhance their commercial operations. The ability to interface with data in real-time, via natural language, allows teams to understand customer behaviour patterns in real-time and spot commercial opportunities – from optimal outreach windows to moments to upsell.
The optimal time to overtake the competition
Channel partners that embrace automated data analytics, based on foundations of high-quality data and internal data literacy, are in a great place to establish a competitive advantage. Doing so paves the way for high-impact use cases of generative AI and new commercial services. It’s time for partners to think seriously about how they can harness all the data they hold to the best possible effect.
