Zoom wants its partners to add services. It’s a move that has put sales-focused firms in a bind.
The cloud communications provider will begin assessing partners on a points-based system in October 2026. Zoom is tiering its reseller and agency partners separately, but both will enjoy benefits from adding services.
The change upends the status quo for tech advisors and tech services distributors, which broker deals but have historically not provided post-sale implementation and management.
“I think it potentially begins to redefine what the expectation of agency is,” Bridgepointe Technologies Chief Strategy Officer Scott Kinka told Channel Dive. “There are brokers, and there are value-added advisors.”
TAs are mulling the path forward. They can invest in a professional services practice, turn to larger partners to fill the gap, or hope Zoom backs off.
In theory, expanding into pro services is a great idea, according to Eric Ludwig, cofounder of Rise Technology Advisors. In practice, it’s more complicated.
“There are firms like us that are not big enough to offer pro services, but connected enough to offer significant volume and growth,” Ludwig said. “They're going to leave people like us behind.”
Zoom hasn’t disclosed partner incentive details, but the company may offer higher front-end sales incentives to its service-focused partners to help them with the costs of expanding their professional services, said Joe Rittenhouse, CEO of Zoom partner CTPros.
“If you want people to do it, there has to be some kind of carrot around it,” Amplix CEO Dan Gill said.
Some TAs have been asking for a carrot for years.
“If we reduce the workload of the vendors by doing more of the work — paperwork, programming, building profiles, establishing call flow, implementations, support — we drive better CX experiences so why shouldn’t we be taken care of better and differently?” ATC of Ohio CEO David Goodwin said in an email.
Channel Dive reached out to Zoom for comment and has not received a response as of press time.
The cost of change
Pro services practices are commonplace at large Zoom partners like CDW. They are rare among TAs.
Staffing is one of the challenges. Most TAs employ fewer than 10 people, according to a 2024 Informa TechTarget survey of 67 TAs. Those who have added professional services did so at a steep cost.
“It's daunting, and we're a pretty sophisticated agent,” said Onward Communications President Tricia Ward, whose firm has developed a practice. “I have deep pockets because of the longevity of the company. I can leverage my commission dollars against that. Take the poor guy or gal or small firm that doesn't have any of that infrastructure … What are they going to do?”
Kairos Data Communications takes a hands-on approach to helping its customers and vendors get to deployment. But that’s not the same as completely owning the implementation process.
“I’d love to take on the engineering expenses, liability, implementation risk and identity crisis that would accompany doing full blown UC/CC implementation on our own — said no small TA team ever,” Kairos VP of Operations MaryTom Hofer told Channel Dive in an email.
Hofer and other small TAs are worried about losing their neutrality. Advisors help customers vet multiple vendor solutions. Aligning with a single vendor introduces bias or at least the perception of it, Disruptive Innovations CEO David Wright said.
Vendors might consider adding AI-based tools to enable partner services in lieu of adding staff, said Ward.
“I'm still using manual input and manual labor. That's not a very scalable model,” Ward said.
Service ecosystems
TAs regularly collaborate with professional services firms to fulfill CX deployments.
Service providers collect the upfront dollars a customer would otherwise pay the vendor, while TAs get residual vendor commissions or split them with the service provider.
M&A has changed the CX services landscape. Bridgepointe purchased PPT Solutions in 2022, and Amplix bought InflowCX in 2023. Both buyers vowed to continue working with TAs.
“Good advisors embrace the idea that the rising tide lifts all boats,” Gill said.
The best partners will curate ecosystems that they can bring to bear for clients, Keith Hatley, partner at Cloud Communications Group, said.
“At CCG, we see this as an opportunity to strengthen the channel rather than fracture it. The advisors who adapt fastest won’t necessarily be the ones who hire the most engineers but the ones who build the most trusted partnerships,” Hatley told Channel Dive.
TSDs have historically played matchmaker for service partners and TAs. That pattern may continue. Bridgepointe, which operates its own TSD practice, wants to engage with TAs on deals, even if they are tagged to another TSD. Kinka said TSDs may need to wait and see how Zoom’s program takes shape before ironing out new deals.
Ludwig said Zoom’s changes present an opportunity for TSDs to provide enhanced value. That could be through developing their own services that TAs can use.
“The biggest reason we work with the TSDs is, they de-risk. So let's continue the de-risk, and let's find a way for them to offer this service so they placate their partner in Zoom, but they also are able to continue their relationship with a partner like us,” Ludwig said.
Avant has won multiple partner of the year awards from Zoom. Andrew Pryfogle, head of CX/AI and global education lead at the TSD, said he’s confident in Avant’s position going forward.
“[Zoom Head of Global Channel GTM] Nick Tidd’s strategy to strengthen the relationship with top tier partners is exactly the right approach for where the market is heading, and we’re excited to continue driving growth together,” Pryfogle said in an email.
Finding an edge
Market conditions are pushing TAs to increase the value they deliver to clients, regardless of whether they offer professional services.
Services have been a competitive advantage for Bridgepointe in the enterprise market, Kinka said.
Services function as the tip of the spear in Bridgepointe’s mission to supplant Big 5 consulting firms. The take-outs start with projects.
“You don't compete against the Big 5 by doing brokerage work. You can replace them from a consulting perspective, and you get the brokerage work,” Kinka said.
Services also speed up sales revenue, according to Kinka. Owning the deployment ensures that the technology is installed, and that’s when monthly commission checks start arriving in the mail.
“You get paid faster when you install it yourself,” he said. “People sleep on that fact.”
Adding value doesn’t always mean providing pro services.
Some TAs say it’s perfectly fair for Zoom to scorecard them, but the vendor needs to value pre-sale services as much as post-sale services. For example, TAs that align closely with Zoom in go-to-market efforts and earn certifications could earn increased points, Rise’s Eric Ludwig suggested.
“I think there's got to be a better way where you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, because there are partners that don't want to build a professional services bench,” he said.
IQ Wired President of the Board Darcee Nelan said the program needs to take into account the fundamental differences between TAs, managed service providers and value added resellers.
“While the tiered structure may be intended as a carrot, for many in the channel it feels more like a stick — one that risks signaling exclusion rather than empowerment,” Nelan said in an email. “It’s true that not all TAs engage in the same way, but many have decades of experience advising clients and designing solutions. We are far from the caricature of partners who ‘throw a lead over the fence.’ We are trusted consultants who understand the complexities customers face and guide them accordingly.”
