Ann Arbor-based Amplifinity has been acquired by Impartner in a deal that includes both Amplifinity’s referral marketing software, as well as its incentive management technology and integrations.
The deal is expected to help formalize management of emerging “shadow channel” partners, which are projected to explode in growth in the coming decade. By providing corporations with an intentional versus ad-hoc process for managing these increasingly critical relationships, companies are believed to see an average revenue increase of over 30 percent from these partners. This shadow channel of non-traditional partners has emerged because business unit buyers, who make 72 percent of purchasing decisions, increasingly turn to disparate groups such as industry-based consultants, service providers and independent software vendors to help implement technology.
“The shift in today’s partner landscape is tectonic,” Impartner CEO Joe Wang said in a statement. “With factors such as changing business models due to SaaS companies and the shift to business unit buyers from IT, an increasingly omni-channel environment has emerged to serve the customer no matter how they reach out. The time is now to make sure we’re rounding out our technology with solutions like Amplifinity to help our customers bring the same process and structure we’ve brought to managing traditional partner models to managing and rewarding new types of partners in this changing channel landscape.”
Amplifinity CEO Bill Weissman added: “This acquisition underscores that emerging partner groups have moved into the main stream mix for corporations everywhere and need to be managed as such. Traditional and non-traditional partners are the new normal for corporations everywhere, and by bringing our technology together with Impartner’s, customers now have a complete tool set to maximize their business relationship with every type of partner and accelerate revenue for everyone.”
Amplifinity’s team will remain in the company’s Ann Arbor offices, adding a Midwest team of developers to Impartner’s global channel innovation labs. Financial sponsors in the transaction include San Mateo, California-based Emergence Capital Partners, London-based Kennet Partners, Dallas-based ORIX Growth Capital and Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank, according to PitchBook. Amplifinity has raised a total of $15.6 million through four rounds of funding, reports Crunchbase.
