Austin, Texas, USA, April 4, 2025
Futurum Launches Its First Survey of the Channel Partner Ecosystem To Understand Its 2025 Outlook.
The partner ecosystem, composed of resellers, MSPs, systems integrators, and consultancies, is largely optimistic about its prospects in 2025 and beyond. Most partners surveyed (87%) expect to grow revenues in 2025, with a subset of that group (18%) targeting more than 20% growth. Top technology categories expected to drive growth for the partner ecosystem include AI software (such as copilots), cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure.
Figure 1: GTM Channel Decision Makers 2025 Partner Growth Expectations
Alex Smith, Vice President & Practice Lead, Channels & Go-to-Market at Futurum, said, “Partners consistently gravitate toward the most promising growth areas – a strategic advantage of being diversified across the technology stack. This partner survey strongly echoes the findings of our CIO study, revealing a sharp focus on cybersecurity and cloud as top investment priorities. Notably, Microsoft Copilot stands out as the leading AI tool under exploration. The collective hope among partners now is that this wave of experimentation transitions into widespread commercial adoption, unlocking the next phase of opportunity.”
The partner survey also unveiled the importance that Microsoft and AWS have to the partner ecosystem; they were identified as strategically important to 69% and 66% of partner respondents, respectively. Google Cloud was third at 54%. Collectively, it is clear that the three leading hyperscalers are central to both customer IT environments and, subsequently, the partner ecosystem that is servicing this opportunity.
However, not just their cloud and software stacks are important to partners. The hyperscaler cloud marketplaces are rapidly becoming a critical route-to-market that ISVs and channel partners are leveraging. 97% of survey respondents reported at least some proportion of their revenue being transacted via a hyperscaler marketplace; 34% of those partners indicated that the revenue attribution via these platforms was north of 10% of their business.
Crucially, partners also remained optimistic about their future prospects as Generative AI disrupts industries, processes, and job functions in all forms. 46% of partners were “extremely confident” in their company’s ability to be successful in a market that is being transformed by AI.
“Partners have never had the luxury of standing still,” said Tiffani Bova, Chief Research Officer at Futurum. “With every wave of technological disruption, they’ve stepped up – not just to sell and support adoption, but to lead it. Reinvention isn’t an exception; it’s the expectation. The most resilient, future-ready companies continually evolve, positioning themselves to survive the next paradigm shift and shape it.”
Figure 2: IT Partner Confidence in an AI-Transformed World
Partners are not without their challenges, though. For example, despite many partners feeling optimistic about their opportunities around AI, only 20% believed that they have a strong reputation in the field. This demonstrates the perception shift that still needs to occur, especially as every company tries to position itself as a leader in AI.
Other macroeconomic challenges were also at the forefront of the partners’ minds, including the overall health of the economy and rising costs. These issues will remain top of mind, especially as a fluid tariff environment creates uncertainty for the technology industry.
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Author Information
Alex is Vice President & Practice Lead, Ecosystems, Channels, & Marketplaces at the Futurum Group. He is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Channels Research program as part of the overall Futurum GTM and Channels Practice. This includes overseeing the channel data rollout in the Futurum Intelligence Platform, primary research activities such as research boards and surveys, delivering thought-leading research reports, and advising clients on their indirect go-to-market strategies. Alex also supports the overall operations of the Futurum Research Business Unit, including P&L segmentation, sales and marketing alignment, and budget planning.
Prior to joining Futurum, Alex was VP of Channels & Enterprise Research at Canalys where he led a multi-million dollar research organization with more than 20 analysts. He played an integral role in helping the Canalys research organization migrate into Omdia after having been acquired in 2023. He is an accomplished research leader, as well as an expert in indirect go-to-market strategies. He has delivered numerous keynotes at partner-facing conferences.
Alex is based in Portland, Oregon, but has lived in numerous places, including California, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the UK. He has a Bachelor in Commerce and Finance Major from Dalhousie University, Halifax Canada.
Tiffani Bova is Chief Strategy and Research Officer at The Futurum Group.
Ranked for the last six years in the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, Tiffani Bova is a thought leader who Forbes says “reshapes our perception of growth.”
As both a practitioner and academic she offers a unique perspective and has helped lead the tech industry through several evolutions over her nearly 30-year career as Salesforce’s former Growth and Innovation Evangelist, and previously as a Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow at Gartner and a sales, marketing and customer service executive for start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of two Wall Street Journal bestsellers: GrowthIQ and The Experience Mindset.
