AI-Powered PartnerOps: The Next RevOps Frontier

Kyle Hayes shares a compelling journey that blends engineering expertise with operational strategy. Starting at IBM, his early fascination with systems design and IT infrastructure evolved through hands-on roles supporting enterprise data centers. These formative years helped Kyle develop a systems-level perspective. He explains how this foundation shaped his understanding of how technology supports business functions, a theme central to his later work. His transition into software engineering was driven by coding and the desire to understand how complex systems serve broader business outcomes.

Kyle shifted from pure engineering to client architecture and program management as he moved through roles at Microsoft and other firms. This evolution was marked by a desire to bridge the communication gap between business teams and technical departments. At Microsoft, he worked on early Azure and SaaS migration projects, giving him a front-row seat to the evolution of enterprise cloud and partner engagement strategies. These experiences formed a unique blend of technical depth and business alignment that set the stage for his eventual founding of Ecosystem Revenue Dynamics.

Sugata highlights how this trajectory positions Kyle as an ideal thought leader for PartnerOps, which requires engineering precision and strategic coordination. Kyle has carved out a niche in orchestrating partnerships, channels, and go-to-market motions by fusing operational complexity with ecosystem thinking. This first section sets the foundation for understanding why PartnerOps isn’t just a renamed channel function but a critical extension of RevOps designed to handle the growing intricacy of the modern partner ecosystem.

In this section, Kyle outlines the timeline of RevOps’ emergence and its growing importance since around 2016. Initially an evolution of traditional sales operations, RevOps expanded to include customer success, marketing ops, and more, transforming into a hub that touches every revenue-driving function. He credits this shift to changes in customer behavior, particularly in subscription-driven economies. The rise of SaaS and recurring revenue made it essential for companies to align all go-to-market functions to close deals and manage lifecycle value.

Sugata connects this evolution to trends he observed in industries like automotive, where revenue increasingly comes from post-sale activities such as service and upgrades. He argues that RevOps has become necessary because customer relationships extend far beyond the initial sale. Kyle builds on this by explaining how RevOps offers a structure for managing the full revenue lifecycle, from pipeline generation to renewal. However, he cautions that aligning all these functions requires more than just reporting lines—systems integration, shared metrics, and cross-functional workflows.

The duo agrees that while RevOps has created a foundational layer, its true potential lies in continuous improvement and integration with other evolving functions. This includes PartnerOps, which mirrors many of RevOps’ challenges but adds another layer of complexity. From co-selling to multi-partner collaboration, PartnerOps must now rise to the occasion and adopt the same rigor, if not more. This section closes with the insight that RevOps was just the beginning; the real frontier lies in its extensions, like PartnerOps, that must now be built with intention.

Here, the discussion pivots to the operational reality faced by mid-market and enterprise companies: an overwhelming number of applications in the RevOps stack. Kyle estimates a $200M company could manage 50–130 tools, depending on growth trajectory and acquisition history. Each tool has issues—data fragmentation, lack of interoperability, and mounting tech debt. Sugata expands on this by modeling how app sprawl, combined with minimal RevOps staffing, creates hidden costs that sap ROI and inhibit scalability.

Kyle introduces key benchmarks for RevOps effectiveness, including headcount-to-rep ratios and percentage-of-revenue guidelines for ops investment. He stresses that automation cannot succeed without clean data, defined processes, and dedicated ops engineering roles. The conversation surfaces a harsh truth: most organizations are structurally underinvested in operations. Sugata reinforces the point by asking about the human cost of system maintenance, revealing that many companies run complex stacks with as few as 3-4 systems admins. This under-resourcing creates a bottleneck in operational agility and tech enablement.

Together, they point to AI as a potential remedy, but one that requires foundational readiness. AI can automate and streamline RevOps, but only when processes are defined and data is reliable. Kyle suggests that the emergence of the "RevOps engineer" will be key in harnessing AI’s value—a hybrid role that blends analytics, automation, and system integration. This section emphasizes the urgency for organizations to rethink their technology and staffing to unlock real returns from their revenue operations investments.

With RevOps as a backdrop, Sugata transitions to PartnerOps and asks how the same operational principles can apply to indirect go-to-market channels. Kyle identifies a core issue: while direct sales teams are increasingly supported by streamlined tech and ops processes, partner-facing teams often operate in fragmented, ad hoc environments. He lists standard tools like PRMs, LMS platforms, and deal registration systems, but argues that the problem is not quantity—it’s cohesion. These tools fail to provide a unified view of partner engagement without integration.

Kyle stresses the importance of simplifying partner experiences. If partners have to juggle multiple logins, navigate inconsistent systems, or lack visibility into their performance, they disengage. He contrasts this with the growing trend in direct RevOps to prioritize seamless user journeys. PartnerOps must adopt the same mindset. Sugata responds by sharing ZINFI’s approach: a unified platform that reduces integration headaches and builds program alignment from the ground up. The goal is not just efficiency, but better partner relationships and outcomes.

They explore the concept of ecosystem orchestration, where partners are treated as integral contributors throughout the customer journey, not just lead generators. This means tracking attribution, surfacing insights, and optimizing enablement across all partner touchpoints. The conversation introduces PartnerOps as a strategic pillar, not a support function. It also highlights the need for executive buy-in, dedicated resources, and cross-functional ownership to make PartnerOps work at scale. This section marks the shift from theory to application, showing how RevOps thinking evolves into partner ecosystem design.

The final section brings AI into the spotlight as both a catalyst and a challenge for the future of go-to-market (GTM) strategy. Sugata prompts Kyle to discuss whether AI can simplify the chaos of sprawling RevOps and PartnerOps stacks. Kyle responds cautiously, acknowledging that AI has tremendous potential but also introduces complexity if implemented without a clear strategy. The power of AI lies in its ability to automate workflows and generate insights, but its success depends entirely on the quality of underlying data and governance.

They agree that AI isn’t a magic solution—it's a tool that must be paired with structured thinking, robust processes, and continuous oversight. Kyle highlights the need for ongoing iteration and training, especially for AI agents and copilots that support sales or partner engagement. He introduces the idea of "revenue engineers" as a growing role category that combines process design, systems thinking, and AI proficiency. These professionals will be critical in implementing and maintaining intelligent, responsive RevOps and PartnerOps systems.

Sugata brings the conversation full circle by positioning ZINFI’s platform approach as a forward-looking solution to these challenges. He emphasizes integrating marketing, sales, and customer ops across direct and indirect channels. Kyle adds that the industry lacks a formal PartnerOps framework—something they both agree must be developed over the next few years. This section ends with a call to action: PartnerOps is not just a rebrand; it's the next frontier and must be built with the same strategic rigor as RevOps.