THE CHANNEL AND PRM GLOSSARY.

Channel sales is any revenue a vendor generates through third-party partners (resellers, MSPs, distributors, referrals) rather than through its direct sales team.

A partner ecosystem is the full set of resellers, service partners, technology partners, and referral partners that surround a vendor and drive revenue together.

A partner portal is the self-service web application where partners access deal registration, training, marketing assets, MDF, and support from a vendor.

PRM (Partner Relationship Management) is the software vendors use to run their entire partner program: onboarding, deal registration, MDF, training, tiering, and analytics.

A dealer is a partner authorized to sell a vendor's product in a specific territory, common in manufacturing, automotive, and industrial channels.

A distributor is a two-tier channel partner that buys product from the vendor in bulk and resells it to a network of VARs, MSPs, and resellers.

An ISV (Independent Software Vendor) is a software company that builds and sells its own product, often integrating with or partnering alongside another vendor's platform.

An MSP (Managed Service Provider) is a partner that delivers ongoing IT services, monitoring, and management to customers under a recurring contract, often bundled with vendor products.

An MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider) is an MSP specialized in security, delivering 24/7 monitoring, detection, and response for their customers.

An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) partner embeds a vendor's product into its own product and ships it to end customers as a single, branded offering.

A referral partner introduces qualified leads to a vendor and earns a commission when the deal closes, without carrying the sales cycle or owning the customer relationship.

A reseller is a partner that buys product from a vendor or distributor and sells it to end customers, with or without additional services.

An SI (Systems Integrator) is a services-led partner that designs and implements complex, multi-vendor solutions for enterprise customers.

A VAR (Value-Added Reseller) is a partner that resells a vendor's product bundled with its own services, integration, or configuration.

Co-op is a channel marketing fund that partners accrue as a percentage of their sales and spend on approved marketing activities, with the vendor reimbursing after proof of performance.

MDF (Market Development Funds) is money a vendor gives partners to run marketing activities that generate pipeline for the vendor's product.

Tiering is a partner program structure that groups partners into levels (for example, Silver, Gold, Platinum) with escalating requirements, benefits, and margin.

Channel conflict is when two sales motions (direct and partner, or two partners) pursue the same deal, creating disputes over ownership, discounting, and compensation.

Co-selling is when a vendor's direct sales team and a partner's sales team work the same deal together, sharing pipeline, positioning, and account access.

Deal registration is the process where a partner submits an opportunity to the vendor for approval, locking exclusive rights and a discount on that deal.

Partner recruitment is the process of identifying, qualifying, and signing new partners into a vendor's channel program.

Partner certification is a formal credential a vendor awards to a partner's individual reps or engineers who complete required training and pass an assessment.

Partner enablement is the set of training, content, and tools a vendor provides so partners can sell and deliver the vendor's product effectively.