The Hardware and Software Sales Channel2•Develop the hardware andsoftware products andservices•Oftenno direct relationshipwith end customers•Always a direct relationshipwith distributors•Sometimes a directrelationship with resellers•The “middleman”–purchaseproducts and servicesfromvendorsand sell to resellers•Typically large, sophisticated,often multinational companies•Direct contact with resellers•Rare contact with endcustomers•Purchase products and servicesfrom distributors and (sometimes)vendors and sell to end customers•Variety of sizes—from small andlocal to large and multinational•Variety of sales models•Often act as systems integrators ormanaged service providersVendorsResellersDistributorsEnd Customer