XChange 2012: Channel Partners Should Foster Disruptive Change

Waves of change in each generation inundate businesses unable to cope; think of Kodak, Borders and Blockbuster. Channel partners face the same dangers, said David Nour, a business relationships expert speaking Sunday at UBM Channel's XChange 2012 conference in Dallas, Texas.

Nour, the author of the book, "Relationship Economics," said partners are facing the latest wave of disruptive innovation as social networking, mobility and cloud computing become the dominant technology trends.

How managed solution providers and system integrators react to these changes will mean the difference between their success and failure, Nour told about 400 people attending the event.

[Related: CRN's Exclusive Coverage Of XChange 2012 ]

Relationships built on old business models and customs will no longer help business customers but instead undermine their ability to adapt to new opportunities.

"What are you doing to think differently about your business?" Nour asked. "What are you doing to evolve?"

Relationships that partners foster with clients can no longer be static and reactive, but must become proactive, predictive and visionary. "You have to elevate the relationship to one that is truly transformative," he said.

The growing popularity of social networking, mobility and cloud computing is creating a new technology landscape. "How are you going to help your client position himself for this evolution?" Nour asked. "How are you going to help the client deal with this type of environment?"

Nour said partners need to develop client relations built on a strategic view of their business. CIOs are no longer concerned with solely with technology but with transformation, so partners need to adjust to this thinking.

"The pinnacle [of partner-client relations] is a strategic relationship that can help elevate the business," Nour said. "They talk about their plans, how they are getting into new markets, and what do they [customers] need versus what do they want."

PUBLISHED AUGUST 19, 2012