When your technology business reaches a certain scale, delivering all the necessary services becomes a real challenge, often needing to rely on professional services partners to meet the growing demands and maintain high-quality service delivery. But managing these partnerships effectively isn’t easy—it’s a complex and ongoing process that many technology vendors struggle to master.

At TSIA, we’re tackling this challenge head-on. Our Optimizing Professional Services Partner Management Research Journey is designed to address the crucial question: How can technology vendors optimize their professional services partner management to ensure seamless, standardized, and scalable service delivery?

This is more than just a theoretical exercise. Getting it right can directly impact your ability to deliver services efficiently and maintain quality for your customers. That’s why we’re committed to uncovering the best practices, metrics, and real-world examples you can use to build and manage strong partner relationships.

So, jump in as we:

• Define the Problem: We’ll pinpoint the core challenges that technology vendors face when managing service partners.
• Launch Discovery: We will investigate the factors driving these challenges through surveys, interviews, and data collection.
• Develop the Theory: With data in hand, our analysts will create or refine frameworks that address key issues.
• Guide the Industry: We’ll connect our findings to measurable financial outcomes, helping you apply insights to your partner management strategies.

By joining this Research Journey, you’ll get a front-row seat to the latest insights and practical solutions. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to participate, share your experiences, and see firsthand what it takes to optimize professional services partner management at scale. Stay connected and be part of the conversation, because together, we can shape the future of partner management.

‍

{{special-callout}}

‍

‍

Define the Problem: Why Partner Management Is a Challenge for Professional Services Providers

Managing the relationship between technology vendors and professional services partners isn’t a new issue. As your technology business grows, so does your reliance on partners to deliver services. What might have once been a straightforward aspect of your operations, can quickly become a significant challenge—especially as your partner ecosystem becomes more diverse and complex.

The primary challenge lies in managing a wide range of partners while maintaining consistent service quality. You must ensure that every partner aligns with your business goals and delivers the service your customers expect. That’s not easy, especially when each partner might have different approaches, capabilities, and priorities.

This Research Journey is relevant for a broad audience within technology services, including:

• Technology vendors: Understanding effective partner management is crucial if you rely on partners for service delivery.
• Channel organizations: Teams within technology vendors who work directly with partners must optimize these relationships.
• Professional services leaders: Whether within a technology vendor or a partner organization, managing partnerships effectively is essential to your success.
• Service delivery and resource management professionals: If you deliver professional services or manage resources, you need strategies to ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes.

Why Solving This Problem Matters

When your partners fall short, the consequences ultimately land on you. Poor partner management can lead to:

• Inefficient resource allocation: When partners aren’t aligned, you may use more resources than necessary.
• Inconsistent service quality: If your partners fail to meet standards, it negatively impacts customer experience and satisfaction.
• Operational burdens: Teams responsible for managing partner relationships may struggle with increased workloads and complexity.
• Reduced customer satisfaction: Inconsistent service delivery can lead to frustrated customers and a damaged reputation.

Taking control of your partner management strategy means proactively addressing these challenges and building a more efficient, reliable service ecosystem. In this Research Journey, we’ll share practical solutions and insights to help you overcome these hurdles and achieve your desired customer outcomes.

Related: The State of Professional Services 2025: Navigating Transformation

The Research Approach for Partner Management in Professional Services

As you navigate the challenges of partner management, it’s crucial to have data-driven insights and practical strategies to guide your efforts. That’s why this Research Journey is designed to give you precisely that: comprehensive analyses and actionable insights to help you strengthen your partner-vendor relationships.

Our approach isn’t just about collecting data—it’s about actively involving you as a collaborator. By participating, you’ll gain access to insights that can reshape how you manage professional services partnerships within your organization.

Here’s how we’ll work together to optimize partner management:

• Polls: We’ll kick things off with a Quick Poll featuring five targeted questions. This will capture your immediate thoughts and experiences, providing us with a starting point for further exploration.
• Detailed survey: Next, we will conduct a comprehensive survey with 20 questions to explore the challenges and strategies of different organizations in greater depth. This survey will help us gather more nuanced data to better understand the real-world complexities of managing professional services partners.
• Continual engagement: Throughout this journey, you will stay informed through regular updates, including published insights, webinars, and additional resources. We’ll wrap up the journey by launching a dedicated conference where you can connect with others facing similar challenges. You can expect three to six research publications, each offering detailed insights into the current state of professional services partner management.

What You’ll Gain From Joining This Research Journey

By participating in this Research Journey, you’re not just joining a study, but actively reshaping how professional services partner management works. Here’s what you can expect to gain.

Critical Thematic Insights

You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the key themes currently shaping professional services partner management. Discover which strategies are working, pinpoint areas where friction often occurs, and get a clearer picture of the industry’s future. This knowledge will help you make more informed decisions when managing your partner relationships.

Proactive Guidance

Our research doesn’t just react to industry changes—it prepares you for what’s next. You’ll receive practical recommendations that you can implement within your organization. From identifying best practices to implementing data-driven strategies, you’ll have the guidance to stay ahead.

Strategic Empowerment

The ultimate goal of this journey is to give you the tools and knowledge to optimize your partner management function at scale. You’ll learn how to:

• Implement best practices that enhance partnership effectiveness.
• Use data-driven insights to strengthen your relationships.
• Build a more scalable and efficient partner management strategy.

By joining us on this Research Journey, you’ll contribute to a deeper understanding of professional services partner management. Together, we can address the existing challenges, fill knowledge gaps, and move the industry forward. Engage with us, and let’s redefine what it means to be a successful partner.

Stay engaged by participating in our polls and surveys, and utilize our publications to gain a deeper understanding of how to optimize your partner relationships.

Your Key Takeaways

• Optimize partner management at scale: Effectively managing professional services partners becomes increasingly complex as your technology business grows. Our Research Journey will provide practical strategies and data-driven insights to help you streamline and standardize your partner management function.
• Proactive and practical guidance: By participating, you will gain actionable recommendations to enhance partnership effectiveness, maintain consistent service quality, and mitigate operational challenges. Stay ahead with insights designed to help you manage partnerships efficiently.‍
• Collaborative learning and strategic empowerment: This journey isn’t just about gathering data—it’s about working together to shape the future of professional services partner management. Engage with industry insights, share your experiences, and take away strategies to build stronger, more productive partnerships.