Next-Gen PartnerOps Video Podcasts

The Rise of AI Agents in Partner Experience Management

In this insightful episode of the ZINFI Partner Ecosystem Podcast, Sugata Sanyal, Founder & CEO of ZINFI, hosts Naomi Dreifuss, Founder & CEO of Zugit, for a dynamic conversation on the evolving landscape of Partner Experience Management. Naomi shares her path from SaaS sales into launching Zugit, a platform redefining how organizations use AI to power more innovative partner ecosystems.

The discussion unpacks why traditional PRM tools fall short, how AI agents transform data into actionable intelligence and the strategic importance of partner transparency and engagement. Naomi brings unique insight into how organizations can leverage analytics and automation to scale partnerships without friction.

Whether managing a long-tail partner network or rethinking your go-to-market strategy, this podcast delivers sharp, practical insights on succeeding in the AI-powered partnership era.

Tune in to learn how AI can elevate your partner programs to the next level.

Video Podcast: The Rise of AI Agents in Partner Experience Management

Chapter 1: The Friction Between Sales and Partner Experience Management

The opening section highlights the persistent misalignment between sales teams and partner-focused functions in many SaaS companies. In fast-moving environments, sellers often face frequent territory reassignments, requiring them to rebuild partner relationships from scratch. Unfortunately, many partners lack structured onboarding, consistent engagement, and clearly defined goals. Rather than becoming accelerators for revenue growth, these partners end up marginalized.

This disconnect largely stems from how companies traditionally measured success. Sales teams have long operated under strict quotas and revenue targets. In contrast, partner performance lacked standardized metrics. Without clear accountability, partner efforts often appeared ambiguous, causing mistrust to grow between teams. Adoption lagged, momentum stalled, and partnerships rarely scaled.

This isn’t just a technology failure—it’s a cultural one. Collaboration breaks down when organizations lack shared workflows, mutual KPIs, and data transparency. Sales reps hesitate to involve partners, and leadership deprioritizes partner programs. These systemic issues have long plagued companies trying to integrate partnerships into their growth strategy.

Recognizing these challenges, innovators developed new tools focused on Partner Experience Management. These platforms use automation and AI to replace guesswork with data. They enable companies to align sales and partner functions with a single source of truth. With real-time visibility into partner engagement, performance, and ROI, organizations can embed partnerships as a core growth function rather than a siloed initiative.

By addressing the root problems of alignment, attribution, and transparency, Partner Experience Management platforms help companies treat their partners not as extensions but as integral growth drivers.

Chapter 2: Efficiency, Ecosystem Pressure & the Role of Partner Experience Management

Today’s economic climate is forcing a radical transformation in partner ecosystems. Stakeholders—including boards and investors—no longer accept loosely defined go-to-market programs. They expect measurable value delivered at speed. In today’s reality, companies can no longer afford to give partnerships years to mature; they must contribute within quarters.

C-suite leaders must now treat partnerships as business-critical infrastructure. This shift mirrors transformations already seen in product development. Partnerships must adopt a data-driven, iterative approach as teams move from waterfall methods to Agile and DevOps.

Despite this urgency, many partner teams still operate in static, manual cycles—drafting annual plans without the real-time feedback required to adapt and succeed. This outdated approach starkly contrasts modern expectations for speed, insight, and scale.

Enter Partner Experience Management. This emerging discipline provides the systems and tools to shift from legacy thinking to dynamic execution.

These platforms offer real-time partner dashboards, predictive insights, and automated health checks. They ensure that CROs, CFOs, and CEOs can monitor partner performance and make timely decisions.

Partner Experience Management elevates partner programs to board-level visibility and unlocks agility. Companies that embrace these systems move faster, invest smarter, and get ahead of ecosystem complexity.

Chapter 3: AI Agents and the Intelligence Layer of Partner Experience Management

This section explores the growing role of AI in Partner Experience Management. Traditional approaches required partners to manually update portals with activity reports, pipeline details, and marketing updates. These methods were time-consuming and error-prone.

Modern platforms now use AI agents to pull and interpret data directly from CRM systems, communication logs, and transaction records. These agents build dynamic health scores that identify partner behaviors, engagement trends, and revenue influence—all without manual input.

This shift is transformative. Partner Experience Management no longer relies on assumptions or self-reporting. Instead, AI provides diagnostic clarity: Which partners engage actively? Which ones need support? Which shows potential for upselling?

By analyzing patterns in partner behavior, these platforms surface actionable insights in real time. They recommend the following steps - alert teams to disengagement risks and identify opportunities to expand strategic alignment.

Crucially, this automation also enables scale. Partner managers who previously struggled to support 20 accounts can now manage 200. The intelligence layer of Partner Experience Management allows teams to prioritize high-impact activities, reduce churn, and drive ecosystem-wide ROI.

Chapter 4: The Strategic Future of Partner Experience Management

Looking ahead, the future of Partner Experience Management lies in integrating strategy and operations. It’s not enough to have visibility; companies must act on insights quickly and precisely.

Next-generation platforms position themselves as the strategic control center for partner leaders—providing a single interface for diagnostics, execution, and reporting. Think of them as the Bloomberg Terminal for partnerships.

These systems support every phase of the partner lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to revenue contribution and renewal. They trigger automated nudges for underperforming partners, generate executive-ready reports, and guide resource allocation based on real-time data.

What truly differentiates Partner Experience Management is its ability to bridge long-term goals with daily execution. While many tools focus on task management or asset sharing, these platforms provide strategic clarity. They help leaders understand which partners drive impact, where gaps exist, and how to scale intelligently.

In one case, a company using Partner Experience Management uncovered overlooked partners who still held significant market potential. The organization recovered millions in potential revenue by reactivating those relationships with targeted campaigns.

Partner teams will operate with even greater precision as AI becomes more embedded in these systems. They will spend less time gathering data and more time driving outcomes. Partner Experience Management doesn’t replace the human element—it empowers it.

By enabling smarter, faster, and more collaborative ecosystems, Partner Experience Management defines the future of partner-led growth.