Dive Brief:

• Channelscaler rolled out a partner program benchmarking tool to help vendors assess the performance of their channel ecosystems. The Scaler Index provides deal registration and closure benchmarks for measuring added value, the partner relationship management platform provider said in an announcement on Thursday.
• Partner-led deal closure rates nearly tripled while value for closed registered deals increased more than eightfold in three years, according to an inaugural Scaler Index report published Thursday. Channelscaler analyzed data from more than 30,000 partners operating in vendor programs on the PRM platform between 2016 and 2025.
• “Partner leaders struggle with proving their value, especially internally,” Pam Erlichman, Channelscaler SVP of marketing, told Channel Dive. “What we are trying to do is give them an overview of their partner landscape along with the insights and the data to show what good looks like across the broader ecosystem.”

Dive Insight:

As vendors invest in channel programs as part of broader go-to-market strategies, they see returns through a broad lens that captures deals, revenue and, increasingly, customer outcomes tied to partners.

Cybersecurity platform provider Qualys saw partner-led revenue increase 22% year-over-year in the second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, CFO Joo Mi Kim said during an Aug. 6 earnings call. In the same three-month period, AvePoint added a record number of small and midsize businesses to its customer base, a development the software company’s CFO Jim Caci attributed largely to MSP partners.

Channelscaler aims to give its platform clients better visibility into metrics that link partner performance to training, credentialing, market development funding and other program perks. The company initially focused on partner deal notifications, which continued to accelerate after tripling in a client’s first year using the platform.

While the current index doesn’t tease out what drives deal registrations, it shows growth gaining momentum beyond a client’s first year on the platform. 

“There’s a three-year maturation curve from when you move to automation,” Erlichman said. “The broader executive team may want to launch a partner program and have it blow up overnight. This gives them a baseline for understanding how these programs mature and what to expect over time.”

Channelscaler has been growing an ecosystem around the platform. The company created a partner program in June for independent software vendors and consulting firms to foster multi-party go-to-market strategies. Earlier this month, the Channelscaler PRM and partner automation platform was listed on Microsoft’s cloud marketplace, where clients can subscribe using their existing Azure spending credits.

The next step with the Scaler Index will be to expand its scope, according to Erlichman.

“What we are going to launch next is looking at engagement metrics, and then we’re going to include MDF support and rebates and other factors affecting customer engagement and partner pipelines,” Erlichman said.