RESEARCH NOTES · ARCHIVE
Previous research notes
Every earlier note in the series, kept in one place. Each one takes a piece of published research on partner ecosystems, reads it through the ACE Framework and says what it does and does not prove.
HOW THE ARCHIVE WORKS
Earlier research, still on record
The Insights page carries our six most recent Research Notes. When a new note is published, the oldest moves here. Its page, its link and its findings stay exactly as they were, so you can return to a note or share it with your team at any time.
Looking for the latest research?
The six most recent notes are on the Insights page.
HOW THE ARCHIVE WORKS
Short reads with a clear bottom line
01
One piece of research
We take a single published report, survey or dataset that bears on partner ecosystems, channel strategy or programme performance.
02
Read through the ACE Framework
We test its claims against the evidence and against the ACE Framework, the same framework behind our Stacking the Deck workshops.
03
A simple bottom line
We take a single published report, survey or dataset that bears on partner ecosystems, channel strategy or programme performance.
RN-01
The Partnership Variable
What Gartner’s Cool Vendors do (and don’t) tell us about ecosystem strategy when a company gets acquired.
Review on:
Analyst Observatory outcome coding of 256 Gartner Cool Vendor designees
ACE lens:
Community · Value Proposition
RN-02
The Scaler Index
A valuable and welcome benchmark, with perhaps an over-stated outcome. Read it as an adoption pattern, not a channel maturity assessment.
Review on:
Channelscaler, Scaler Index: 2026 Pipeline Performance Report
ACE lens:
Analytics
RN-03
A 70-point swing in the dark
GTDC’s distribution report is absolutely right about the capability gap, but less transparent and traceable about the distribution multiplier it’s claiming.
Review on:
Channelnomics for the Global Technology Distribution Council, The Evolving Role of Distribution in Technology Go-to-Market Models, July 2026
ACE lens:
Analytics (lead vs. lag measures) · Execution Engine (measure)
Talk through the research with Paul
Pick the note closest to your current priorities and we will discuss what it means for your partner programme.