The four types
- Integration partners — vendors whose product connects to yours via API. The integration is the partnership artifact. Typically no money flows between parties; value is created in joint customers.
- ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partners — vendors who build on your platform. Your product is the substrate; theirs is the application. Often involves marketplace listing and revenue share.
- Platform partners — vendors whose platform you build on. Inverse of ISV. You are the application; they are the substrate.
- Marketplace partners — vendors listed in your marketplace (or you in theirs). Lightest tier; often automatic with integration, sometimes paid placement.
Integration partners (most common)
The default "tech partner" most SaaS companies mean. You and another vendor build a connection between your products to solve a customer workflow. Example: Salesforce and Slack (notifications), Zapier and 4000+ apps (automation), HubSpot and Calendly (scheduling).
Agreement: technology partner MOU plus integration brief. No revenue share. Value: joint customers stick longer (15-25% retention lift for customers with 2+ active integrations).
ISV partners (revenue model partnership)
Your platform; their application. Example: Salesforce and the entire AppExchange ecosystem; Atlassian and Marketplace developers; Notion and the template/integration ecosystem.
Agreement: ISV agreement with revenue share (typically 70/30 or 80/20 in the ISV's favor for self-built apps; varies for managed apps). Marketplace listing requirements. Quality bars.
ISV programs are appropriate when your platform has critical mass (>100K users typically) and a real developer surface. Below that scale, ISV programs are mostly theater.
Platform partners (you are the ISV)
Inverse: you build on someone else's platform. Example: any company building on AWS, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft Azure. Your role is the application; their role is the substrate.
Agreement: their standard ISV agreement, which you accept. Revenue share, marketplace requirements, and certification programs flow to you.
Platform partnerships are usually less negotiable; the platform vendor has the leverage. Pick platforms carefully because exit costs are real.
Marketplace partners
Lightest tier: a listing in a marketplace (yours, theirs, or both). Example: HubSpot App Marketplace, Shopify App Store, Atlassian Marketplace.
Marketplace listings amplify integration partnerships by making them discoverable. By themselves, listings produce modest revenue. Combined with active joint marketing, listings become a significant channel — but the listing alone is not the partnership.
When to use which
Integration partners: every B2B SaaS company should have these. Start with 5-10 anchor integrations covering 80% of your customers' adjacent tools.
ISV program: only after you have critical mass and a real developer surface. Premature ISV programs consume engineering effort and produce nothing.
Platform partner: when you are early-stage and the platform's customer base is your ICP. Choose platforms whose business model aligns with yours.
Marketplace listing: as a force-multiplier on every integration partnership. List wherever your integrated partners' customers can discover you.