13 Metrics You Must Track When You Partner with Cloud Service Providers

Essential Partnerships KPIs for Long-Term Success with Cloud Service Providers like AWS, Azure, GCP and others.

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Building a successful partnership with Cloud Service Providers (like AWS, Azure, GCP and others) takes time, and many companies find it challenging to measure the partnership’s success, especially when direct revenue impact may take time to manifest. It’s crucial to set metrics that measure both the partnership’s progress and the revenue impact. While some KPIs will have a direct impact on sales and marketing, others will have an indirect impact and will reflect the partnership’s progress. This progress will be an indicator of potential revenue impact.

Cloud Partnerships KPIs

KPIs are indispensable in managing any business operation, particularly in strategic collaborations like those with CSPs. They enable you to evaluate whether the relationship is beneficial and identify areas for improvement, ensuring that both parties achieve their business goals.

I’ll break the Cloud Partnerships KPIs into three categories — co-develop, co-market, and co-sell.

Co-Develop: Product KPIs

Co-Sell initiatives are product-oriented collaborations. Here are a few metrics to track:

1. # of Joint Product Integrations/Launches: This direct KPI is a clear signal of productive collaboration. The number of product integrations developed and launched together indicates the health and potential of your partnership. It also lay the ground for joint marketing activities.
2. # of Enrollments in Differentiation Programs: Differentiation Programs are Partner Programs that are focused on a specific area where you can show your expertise. For example — AWS Competency Program. Read more about the importance of Differentiation Programs and get a checklist for AWS Competencies on my blog. This indirect KPI reflects deeper engagement and investment in the partnership. Enrollment in programs that distinguish your offerings from competitors not only strengthens your market position but also showcases a shared commitment to long-term success.

Co-Market KPIs

1. # of Joint Marketing Activities: Measuring the number of joint marketing activities. For example: joint webinars, events, marketing collateral etc. For many joint marketing activities, you can receive up to 50% cash back. For example, AWS provide partners MDFs (Marketign Development Funds) for marketing activities. For a deep dive on how to get MDFs and the eligible activities, check out this blog post. Some joint marketing activities will be focused on brand awareness, and will have an indirect impact, and some will be focused on lead generation (see below). It is important to have both.
2. # of Lead Generated: this metric tracks the number of leads your joint marketing attract. An effective co-marketing strategy should see a high volume of leads, reflecting the compelling message being presented to the market.
3. % Conversion Rates: Beyond attracting leads, measure the conversion rates comparing your own conversion rate. If you are working effectively with the CSP you are partnering with, you should see higher conversion rates from your joint marketing efforts comparing to your marketing activities that you are doing on your own.

Co-Sell KPIs

1. # of Engagements with CSP Sellers:

Frequent and productive engagements between your sales team and the CSP’s sellers suggest a robust partnership. Measure the number of sellers you contact and the number of one-to-many sessions, like lunch & learns. This KPI is an excellent indicator of the relational depth that facilitates easier and more frequent transactions.

2. Co-Sell Program Enrollment:

Formal participation in co-sell programs underscores a commitment to jointly driving sales efforts. It’s a foundational element that supports direct sales activities and revenue generation.

3. Deal Support (3 metrics):

• Deal Influence and Size: Monitoring the influence of the partnership on deal size and closure rates can provide insights into the effectiveness of the co-selling strategy. Measure deal size of deal where you involved a CSP Seller in the process, and monitor its impact. A strong Co-Sell strategy and execution should result larger deal sizes and higher closure rates.
• Speed of Deal Closure: An efficient sales process, evidenced by faster deal closures, often results from effective collaboration and streamlined workflows between partners.
• % Customer Retention and Upsell Rates: Over time, successful CSP partnerships should lead to higher customer retention (again comparing to the rates where CSP Sellers where not involved) and more upselling opportunities.

4. # of Customers Referrals:

The cherry on the top of a Co-Sell strategy is receiving customer referrals from CSP Sellers. These are brand new opportunities that were brought in to your sellers thanks to the partnership you have created with the CSP.

5. $ Revenue Impact from Customers Referrals & Deal Support

6. $ Revenue executed via the CSP Marketplace

Today all the leading CSPs offer their customers to purchase Partner Solution on their Marketplace, enabling them a one stop shop to easily purchase products via a consolidated platform that they are familiar with. Measuring the revenue executed via the Marketplace, will help you understand the influence of the Marketplace, as customers will be able to purchase faster using Marketplace. There are other motivations for customers to buy from the Marketplace, and I will not go over it here. For a deep dive of Marketplace incentives for sellers and buyers, check out this post.

Implementing Partnership KPIs Effectively

To manage these KPIs effectively, integrate them into your CRM system to create a comprehensive view of the partnership’s performance. This integration allows for real-time tracking and management of each critical metric, ensuring that all stakeholders have timely data to make informed decisions.

Measuring some metrics like customer referrals, are pretty stright forward, it is updated in the lead or opportunity source. However, you should measure the partnership influence as well. For example, the deal support your seller received on their existing pipeline, from the CSP Sellers. Here is how I suggest to measure this influence. In each opportunity on your CRM, you can add a box where your Sellers can “check” if they received any support from a CSP Seller. What counts as support you may ask? in my opinion it should be anything that YOUR seller consider as support. Measuring this support will help you track the co-sell influence. Meausring the customer referrals is straing forward

Earning Your Leadership’s Trust

Showing the partnership’s progress using the above-mentioned KPIs will help you demonstrate to your leadership the progress of the partnership and show the path for success, even before seeing the direct revenue impact. It is important to get leadership buy-in and commitment to the partnership journey as a long-term strategy.

The Long Road Ahead

Managing cloud partnerships through KPIs requires ongoing attention and adaptation.Regular analysis of these KPIs helps confirm that your strategic partnership is not just maintaining but also advancing toward set goals. This ongoing evaluation ensures that your alliance with AWS aligns with your long-term business objectives.

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Deepen your strategic approach to cloud partnerships by enrolling in my highly-rated Udemy course, “Mastering Cloud Partnerships & Co-Sell”. This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge to build and sustain successful partnerships with major cloud providers like AWS.