Trusted Advisors
A TA stakes a client relationship on every supplier they bring into a deal, with no independent way to verify the program behind the pitch.
The independent standard for channel programs
What is Channel Certified?
The independent certification for technology suppliers' channel programs: four levels, nine categories, every requirement proven by evidence.
Built and audited by The Channel Advisors, so Trusted Advisors and TSDs can see which suppliers built the real thing, and suppliers can prove it.
01Why we do it
Every supplier says they're channel‑friendly.
The channel runs on trust, and until now that trust has run without a standard. Everyone in it pays for that.
TSDs
Every vetting team starts from scratch on every application, re-asking the same questions with no shared definition of "ready."
Suppliers
The suppliers who built the real thing, with protections written, operations running, and executives bought in, sound exactly like the ones who didn't.
Channel Certified exists to replace the claim with evidence: documents, exports, and artifacts, graded against a published rubric and audited by The Channel Advisors. Not what a supplier says about their program, but what they can prove.
02What it is
A standard, not a badge.
Channel Certified is the independent standard for technology suppliers' channel programs. It defines, requirement by requirement, what a real channel program consists of, and certifies suppliers one audited level at a time.
4Certification levels, cumulative: Foundation before Operational before Embedded before Leader
9Categories of requirements, from commission integrity to leadership alignment
1:1Every requirement carries its own grading rubric and knowledge base of best practices
✓Certified suppliers listed in a public directory with verified partner reviews
Documented, defined
"Documented" always means written, dated, and owned by a named role. A slide showing intent is not a document.
Evidence, never assertion
Every requirement is provable by a document, export, or artifact. Nothing counts because somebody said so.
Human-audited
Each level is a separate human audit by TCA confirming the program operates in practice, not only on paper.
03How we do it
From assessment to audit, one level at a time.
1
Assess
30 questions, ten minutes, scored 0–100 against the standard.
Free · no account
2
Build
Artifact by artifact in the workspace, rubric and knowledge base built in.
AI-assisted
3
Validate
Your own team confirms the work reflects how the company operates.
Human · yours
4
Audit
TCA grades your evidence against the same published rubric.
Human · TCA
✓
Certify & be found
Carry the seal, listed in the directory, reviewed by partners.
Renewed · stays current
Steps 1–3 · you, in the workspace
Steps 4–5 · audited and certified by TCA, per level, no skipping
The standard is versioned and alive. When requirements change, certified suppliers keep their seal through its term and close the gap at renewal, so the seal always means current.
04The four levels
What each level says about the company.
Levels are cumulative, and each one is a separate human audit. Together they track the four stages of channel program maturity: proof of value, partner‑sourced, partner‑influenced, and partner‑powered. The level a supplier holds tells you exactly how deep the program goes.
Foundation
Maturity stage: Proof of value
Be the supplier a TSD says yes to.
A Foundation-certified supplier has earned the right to a channel. The product's value is proven with numbers, not claims. The direct sales motion works. Commission protections and partner agreements are written to survive. A named executive owns the program, and the TSD strategy is deliberate. The program is on paper, and the paper would pass a TSD vetting team today.
The question it answers: if this supplier applied to a TSD tomorrow, would the vetting team sign off, or send them home to finish their homework?
Operational
Maturity stage: Partner-sourced
Prove it runs.
An Operational-certified supplier runs a machine, and measures it. Partners actively source pipeline. Deal registration is live and tested, dedicated channel headcount is in place, onboarding runs on SLAs, training is delivered and tracked, MDF is funded, quotes turn around on time, and the core KPIs come out of real systems every month.
The question it answers: is partner-sourced revenue a repeatable, measurable motion, or a couple of lucky deals with a story attached?
Embedded
Maturity stage: Partner-influenced
The channel makes the whole company better.
An Embedded-certified supplier treats the channel as a company capability, not a sales motion. Partner and TSD feedback flows into the product roadmap. Support learns from TA escalation patterns before customers churn. Marketing sharpens from what advisors hear in real deals. The evidence is cross-functional: named owners in every department, and an executive cadence with TSD leadership.
The question it answers: does every department in this company get measurably better because the channel exists, and do they know it?
Leader
Maturity stage: Partner-powered
Prove it's the advantage.
A Leader-certified supplier's ecosystem is its growth strategy, owned at C‑level and visible to the board. The organization is aligned from sales through finance, ecosystems are API‑integrated with automated lead flow, and joint business plans carry signed revenue targets. This isn't a bigger Gold: the company would be structurally different without its ecosystem.
The question it answers: is this the program other suppliers are measured against?
Bronze earns the experiment. Silver earns the budget. Gold earns the company. Platinum defines the category.
05The nine categories
Where every requirement lives.
Every requirement in the standard belongs to exactly one of nine categories. Together they cover the whole program, from how commissions are protected to how the org chart is built.
1Commercial Infrastructure
2Revenue and Commission Integrity
3Legal and Governance
4Channel Operations and Infrastructure
5Partner Enablement and Training
6Marketing and Demand Generation
7Ecosystem Integration and Distributor Relationships
8Data and Technology Infrastructure
9Leadership and Organizational Alignment
06What it means for you
One standard, three ways to use it.
For Trusted Advisors
Recommend on evidence, not on the pitch.
You stake a client relationship on every supplier you bring into a deal. The seal tells you what a deck can't: commission protections written and built to survive, agreements that carry what you expect, and a program a human audited. The level tells you how deep it goes. Check the directory before your next recommendation, and leave a review after it.
Browse the directory →For TSDs
Vetting shouldn't start from scratch.
Foundation certification is TSD-acceptance readiness: the homework done before a supplier reaches your queue. The levels above it show which suppliers in your portfolio deserve deeper investment. Point prospective suppliers at the standard, and let the evidence arrive already graded.
Browse the directory →For Suppliers
"Channel-friendly" is a claim. Certified is a fact.
The standard is your roadmap: every requirement comes with a rubric and a knowledge base, the workspace helps you build against it with AI assistance, and the audit turns the work into a seal TSDs and TAs can trust. Start where every supplier starts: find out where you stand.
Take the free assessment →
Where does your channel program stand?
Suppliers: the assessment is free, takes about ten minutes, and scores your program 0–100 against the standard. TAs and TSDs: the directory shows you who's already proven it.
Not sure which of those you need? Tell us where the program is today and we will come back to you within one business day.
Channel Certified · The independent standard for channel programsBy The Channel Advisors · channelcertified.com