Engagement Rules

By Craig Zarley
CRN June 25, 2004

Does the industry really need another "Rules of Engagement" manifesto?

Reluctantly, the answer is "yes."

In recent years, major vendors such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM, among others, have crafted rules that they say are designed to ease channel conflict with their solution provider partners. But those rules came only after those solution providers with some clout complained loudly enough that the respective vendor's direct-sales force had consistently abused the channel. What's more, although cast as a mea culpa, the rules of the game were ultimately defined and refereed by the vendors. [Read More]