Indirect Sales

Indirect sales occur when a third-party sells a product or service instead of the provider itself. There are a variety of indirect sales channels, including affiliates, where a third-party receives a commission on sales; reseller programs, including value-added resellers, which bundle their own value, such as integration expertise, with a product; and systems integrators, which act as consultants for whole solution recommendations and deployments.

Some software vendors drive a large portion of their revenue through indirect sales. For example, Microsoft sees more than 95 percent of its revenue come through indirect sales channels. Overall, more than 70 percent of SaaS companies use indirect sales in some way.