The Channel Surfers - Ep. 30 - "Surfing the Channel with AI: A Ride Through Partnerships with Rob Cohen of Lyzr.AI"

Jeff and John welcome Rob Cohen from Lyzr to the show. Rob shares his insight and the evolution and current state of channel partnerships in the tech industry, with a focus on leveraging AI and automation, building effective partner ecosystems, and lessons learned from a career in channel management. Key Takaways: ## Key Points Discussed: * Rob's career journThe evolution and current state of channel partnerships in the tech industry, with a focus on leveraging AI and automation, building effective partner ecosystems, and lessons learned from a career in channel management. ## ey through EMC, Pivotal, AWS, and now Lyzer. * The distinction between co-sell and reseller/distribution channels and their unique challenges. * The importance of building trust, transparency, and strong relationships in partnerships. * The evolution of the MSP (Managed Service Provider) business, especially with the advent of cloud and now AI agents. * The impact of AI and automation on channel management and MSPs, including increased pace and productivity. * How smaller MSPs can leverage AI to compete with larger organizations. * Demo and discussion of Lyzer's AI agent platform, including its capabilities and use cases (e.g., LinkedIn post generator, healthcare diagnostics). * The need for channel professionals to become AI-literate and automate routine tasks to keep up with industry changes. ## Important Quotes or Insights: * "In order for the partnership to work, you have to give a little. In order to get, in order to earn trust and in order to get people to, you know, for the relationship to work." * "If the relationship isn't there, you know, there's always crap in partnerships. Every deal is a snowflake and every deal's got some crap to it." * "When you're a good channel manager, you're a bit of a marriage counselor kind of therapist." * "There's two sides to every story. And, you know, until you understand both sides, you're really never going to get anywhere. And that's exactly what my job is." * "The pace of play is going to enhance. It's going to be faster. Everything's going to be faster. And that means that if you're not organized and you're not as automated as you can be, you're going to be really stressful." * "Become literate. Know what you're talking about. Understand some of the big business challenges that people are solving with agents." ## Actionable Takeaways or Recommendations: * Channel professionals should focus on becoming more efficient and organized, leveraging automation and AI tools. * Build trust and transparency with partners; invest in relationships. * Stay educated and literate about AI and its impact on the industry. * Be bold and creative in applying new technologies to solve business challenges. * Use AI to automate mundane tasks, freeing up time for strategic work and relationship-building. ## Additional Resources or Links Provided: * Rob's contact: , Lyzer website: lyzer.ai * Channel Surfers website: [www.channelsurfers.com](http://www.channelsurfers.com) * LinkedIn page for Channel Surfers (new episodes and summaries posted)