Unifyr+ & Unifyr Pro: Beta program announcement

The channel marketing investment challenge

Building and maintaining a successful partner marketing program demands an extraordinary investment of time, money, and human capital. Companies entering the channel face an uphill battle: the average time to profitability exceeds eighteen months, with some programs requiring up to three years before showing positive returns. This extended timeline stems from the nature of supplier-partner relationships, where each connection requires onboarding, training, and ongoing support. The technology stack alone presents a significant hurdle—most businesses cobble together multiple solutions for partner relationship management (PRM), through-channel marketing automation (TCMA), learning management systems (LMS), and various communication tools. These disconnected systems create friction, not only in daily operations but in the overall partner experience. Consider the stark reality, according to Forrester Research, “over 75% of channel programs fail due to launch delays of over 15 months.” This sobering statistic reflects not just the complexity of channel marketing, but the critical need for a more efficient, unified approach to partner engagement and management.

In the rush to build channel programs, suppliers overlook the irrefutable fact partners are the true heroes of the channel ecosystem, yet they bear an overwhelming burden. A typical partner maintains relationships with 5-15 suppliers, each with their own portal, processes, and expectations. Every morning, these partners face a labyrinth of logins, each leading to a different system where they must hunt for resources, track opportunities, and manage their pipeline. The training and certification requirements alone can consume hundreds of hours annually, while the challenge of finding the right content at the right time creates massive inefficiencies. Partner program adoption can be as low as 20%, according to a SiriusDecisions study. This fragmentation takes a toll not just on productivity, but on the ability of partners to serve their customers effectively. The status quo forces partners to be systems integrators rather than focusing on their core strength: building and maintaining customer relationships that drive revenue for both themselves and their suppliers. The traditional supplier-centric model, while understandable from a control perspective, has created an unsustainable burden on the very businesses that suppliers rely upon for market expansion and revenue growth.

Introducing Unifyr+: A partner-first revolution

The channel marketing industry demands a shift in perspective, and today, Unifyr answers that call with a transformative approach: Unifyr+, the first true partner-centric platform in the channel marketing space. Building upon the proven foundation of ZiftONE’s industry-leading PRM and TCMA capabilities, Unifyr+ inverts the traditional supplier-first model by placing partners at the heart of the ecosystem. This isn’t merely another portal—it’s a comprehensive environment where partners finally gain control over their supplier relationships through a single, intelligent interface. “The future of channel marketing is about smarter connections,” says Cosmo Mariano, Chief Customer Officer of Unifyr. “We’re not just solving the multi-portal problem; we’re creating a new standard for how partners and suppliers collaborate.”

Gone are the days of juggling multiple logins and hunting through disparate systems. The platform’s AI adviser serves as a personal assistant, analyzing each supplier relationship to surface the most relevant content, training materials, and sales opportunities. Partners leveraging these tools will save hundreds of hours per year through automated content discovery and streamlined multi-supplier workflows. Beyond mere efficiency gains, Unifyr+ provides deep relationship insights, helping partners understand and optimize their performance across their entire supplier portfolio. The automated updates feed keeps partners informed of new content and program changes across all their supplier relationships, ensuring they never miss critical information or opportunities to elevate their prospect- and customer-facing communications.

Supplier benefits in the Unifyr+ ecosystem

For suppliers, Unifyr+ offers unprecedented access to engaged, qualified partners through its built-in follower-based system. Partners interested in a supplier can view a curated set of content chosen by that supplier to be seen by partner prospects then make a judgment about whether to pursue a partnership. Coupled with the fact interested partners will already understand your platform and industry, onboarding time drops dramatically. Suppliers leveraging the Unifyr+ ecocsystem will benefit from significantly faster partner activation rates. The platform’s approach to surfacing partners and enabling their success means suppliers can focus on evolving their partner program and further differentiating to make the best use of channel manager time. Most significantly, suppliers gain access to partners who are already successful in their target markets and familiar with the Unifyr+ environment, reducing the traditional friction in partner enablement. The result is a more engaged partner ecosystem where both parties can focus on what matters most: growing revenue together.

Unifyr Pro: Empowering channel agencies

Completing the shift in the channel ecosystem, Unifyr Pro creates a first-of-its-kind marketplace for channel marketing agencies and consultants. This marketplace allows agencies to showcase their expertise and specialized services while enabling suppliers to quickly engage with relevant requirements, increasing speed to results. The platform standardizes the agency engagement process, eliminating the traditional complexities of agency identification, vetting, and management. Agencies can now advertise their services to a qualified audience of suppliers already using the ZiftONE platform, while suppliers gain access to pre-vetted experts who understand their technology stack and channel marketing objectives. This innovative approach addresses a long-standing gap in the channel marketing ecosystem, where finding and engaging the right agency expertise has historically been a time-consuming and risky process.

Unifyr+ and Unifyr Pro are signals of a greater shift in how channel marketing programs will operate and scale in the coming years. The era of isolated, supplier-centric systems is ending, replaced by an interconnected ecosystem that prioritizes relationships and reduces complexity for all participants. This evolution addresses the core challenges that have historically plagued channel programs: high costs, slow time-to-value, and partner frustration. The most successful channel programs of the future will be built on platforms that understand and support the entire ecosystem. This approach creates a sustainable model for channel growth, where success is measured not just in revenue metrics but in the strength and durability of partner relationships. As the channel marketing industry continues to evolve, the companies that embrace this partner-first, ecosystem-centric approach will be best positioned to build and maintain profitable channel programs.

Participating in the beta

If you would like to experience the benefits of engaging in channel partnerships via this new model, you can express interest by completing the form on this page. Participants in our beta program will have early access to Unifyr+ and Unifyr Pro with the opportunity to share feedback that will help our team refine the product for real, high-throughput use cases. Unifyr+ and Unifyr Pro will reach general availability in March 2025.