At IoT Sources, we often view IoT initiatives and use cases through the vendor and end user lenses. If we stop and think about it for a minute though, almost two thirds of technology products and services are sold into end user sites via channel partners. So where do channel partners fit in within the IoT world? The reality is, many channel partners have yet to jump into selling IoT-based solutions and services. The good news is that the Industrial IoT (IIoT) may be just the right place for partners to get started. The following article provides a great roadmap of the IIoT vendor community for partners who may be looking to dip a toe in the water. The article’s author takes a look at the Top 15 IIoT vendors and their associated channel partner programs and offers his expert point of view on them.
It’s a tricky time for channel partners evaluating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market for business opportunities. Unlike the age of PCs and servers, the IIoT sector has yet to grow and consolidate down to a few dominant platforms. In fact, it may never fully consolidate because of the very nature of vertical markets.
Think of it this way: Channel partners in the 1990s made their money building and supporting solutions that ran atop a few dominant platforms — i.e., first Novell NetWare then Microsoft Windows NT Server and various business software platforms like Oracle or SAP.
Fast forward to the present day and the IIoT market is huge — growing more than 7 percent annually to $91.4 billion by 2023, according to Markets and Markets. The problem — and opportunity — for channel partners involves market segmentation, fragmentation and specialization.
