Channel organisations work hard to establish a trusted relationship with the customer but this can be contaminated by an uncomfortable and poorly-handled audit.

The key is early and proactive recognition of the jeopardy of these audits and ensuring that their customer is fully supported. Working alongside the reseller, new opportunities can be opened up.   Just occasionally, some distance may be needed between the license review process and the channel and  this can maintain and enhance the customer-channel relationship.

Robin Fry‘s comments on this also reported in Channel Pro.