Transparency

How The Channel Standard operates and how Channel Companion is built around it.

This page describes how The Channel Standard operates, what the company commits to, and how Channel Companion is built around those commitments. It is published in full because every other player in the channel has a financial reason not to publish a page like this. We believe the absence of one is part of why the channel works the way it does today.

The Channel Standard is the company. Channel Companion is the platform. The commitments below belong to The Channel Standard. The platform behaviors that implement them belong to Channel Companion. We keep the names distinct because the relationship between them is intentional architecture.

Why this page exists

The technology services channel runs on relationships, but the infrastructure that supports those relationships has historically operated on opacity.

None of this is a moral failure of any individual company. It is a structural feature of an industry where the players responsible for transparency are the same players whose business models depend on opacity. The asymmetry is invisible because there is no comparison case.

The Channel Standard exists in part to be that comparison case. Channel Companion is the platform that operationalizes it. This page is the architecture that connects the two.

What we commit to

The Channel Standard is built around three audiences whose interests have to be aligned for the channel to work. Channel Companion is the platform built to implement these commitments.

To advisors

You own your data, always
You see how the platform reasons about supplier matches
You are never sold to a supplier as a lead
You are not charged to use Channel Companion
Your client data is not shared without your explicit decision on a specific opportunity
Your data is not used to train models that benefit other advisors or suppliers

To suppliers

Match logic is identical for every supplier regardless of subscription tier
No priority placement, no sponsored ranking, no pay-for-visibility path
Tiers differ in capabilities. Not in how advisors see you
You see what drives your match scores
Introductions route through your existing TSD relationships and deal registration workflow

To TSDs

Commercial relationships continue to flow through your organization
Channel Companion does not process transactions, hold contracts, or manage commission flow
We do not integrate with TSD systems or collect data from TSDs
Channel Companion sits upstream. In the discovery layer, not in the commercial workflow
Deals discovered on the platform run through the same infrastructure as your existing deal flow

Things The Channel Standard will not do

The following commitments are published in writing because publishing them in writing is the most credible way to make them durable. Each item describes a category of behavior The Channel Standard will not engage in, and that Channel Companion is built to make impossible.

Will not accept payment in exchange for placement, ranking, visibility, or priority in Channel Companion match results. Match logic is identical for every supplier on the platform.
Will not create or operate a supplier rating, scoring, or review system within Channel Companion that is influenced by supplier payment, subscription tier, or participation in any program of ours.
Will not sell, license, or share advisor client data with suppliers, TSDs, or any third party. Advisors own their data. Engagement with a supplier requires the advisor’s explicit decision on a specific opportunity.
Will not sell, license, or share aggregated or anonymized advisor or client data to third parties for marketing, modeling, or research purposes outside The Channel Standard’s own published research.
Will not represent suppliers commercially. We are not a TSD, an agent, a broker, or a master agent. We do not earn commissions on transactions and do not hold supplier contracts.
Will not represent advisors commercially. We do not earn commissions on transactions advisors close and do not own advisor relationships with their clients.
Will not require suppliers or advisors to participate in any sponsorship, marketing, or co-promotion program as a condition of access to Channel Companion or its capabilities.
Will not change any of the commitments above without publishing the change on this page, the date it took effect, and the reasoning behind it.

What The Channel Standard and Channel Companion are not

These distinctions are listed because confusion about them is the source of most concerns we hear from people new to the platform.

Not a TSD. The Channel Standard does not process commissions, hold supplier contracts, or operate deal registration infrastructure.
Not a PRM. Channel Companion does not manage partner certifications, MDF disbursement, or supplier-side onboarding workflows.
Not a portal. Channel Companion does not aggregate access to supplier portals, replace supplier portal functionality, or operate as a layer over existing supplier systems.
Not a CRM. Channel Companion does not store the advisor’s full book of business, manage advisor pipelines outside the discovery and qualification layer, or replace the systems advisors use to operate their practice.
Not a directory. Suppliers are not listed alphabetically or by category for advisor browsing. Match results surface based on opportunity fit.
Not a lead generation service. The Channel Standard does not sell advisor introductions to suppliers and does not produce volumes of advisor contact information for outbound supplier campaigns.

Data handling and security in Channel Companion

What Channel Companion collects

Opportunity context advisors enter to receive supplier matches
Supplier capability profiles that suppliers maintain themselves
Engagement signals that allow the platform to improve match quality over time

Channel Companion does not collect client billing data, contract terms, commission information, or any data from TSD systems. The platform does not access advisor email, calendars, or systems outside Channel Companion.

What we never do with it

Do not sell data collected through Channel Companion
Do not share advisor client information with suppliers without explicit advisor consent on a specific opportunity
Do not use advisor data to train models that benefit unrelated advisors or suppliers
Do not retain client data after an advisor deletes it from the platform

Security architecture

Channel Companion is built to SOC 2 standards. We are actively pursuing SOC 2 Type II certification.

Data encrypted in transit and at rest
Access controls are role-based and audited
Authentication enforced at the account and session level
Security documentation shared with supplier security teams during evaluation
Suppliers can require additional security controls as part of an enterprise agreement

We will publish updates to this section as our security posture evolves.

Why an independent company has to publish this

A transparency layer for the channel requires structural conditions that are difficult to reconcile with most existing channel business models.

The Channel Standard meets these conditions because we built the company around them from inception, not because we discovered them later and adapted. Channel Companion is the platform built under those conditions. This page is the disclosure of them.

We are not the only company that could in principle meet these conditions. We are the company that has chosen to organize around them and to publish that fact in a place that can be referenced and held to account.

How to engage with us on what’s published here

General questions or corrections

If you have questions about anything described on this page, or believe something we have published is inaccurate or has changed, contact us at hello@thechannelstandard.com. We respond to substantive questions in writing and update this page when corrections are warranted.

Supplier security and compliance reviews

If you are a supplier security team or compliance reviewer evaluating Channel Companion, request the platform’s security documentation through your point of contact at The Channel Standard, or contact us directly at the address above.

Platform experience doesn’t match what’s published here

If you are an advisor or supplier who has experienced something on Channel Companion that does not align with the commitments published on this page, we want to hear about it. Email us at hello@thechannelstandard.com with the specifics.

This page was last updated April 21, 2026. Material changes to commitments are dated and the prior version is preserved.