Observer Solutions are deliberately selective. We work with a small number of vendors because our role is to protect client outcomes, not maximise catalogue breadth. Entry into our ecosystem is earned, not bought.

To be considered, vendors must meet the following standards.

1. Proven, Out of Beta

Your platform must be production-ready, with at least five enterprise deployments that are live, referenceable (directly or indirectly), and delivering outcomes.

We do not sell roadmaps.

2. Verifiable Outcomes

You must be able to demonstrate measurable outcomes that we can independently validate through client use, testing, or observation. Whilst obvious to most we will stress that it's critical to our model that these outcomes have a material impact on the clients cyber security posture.

Marketing claims are not evidence.

3. Meaningful Disruption

Your product must deliver clear, material advantage over mainstream alternatives—whether in capability, economics, speed to value, or operational efficiency.

Incremental improvement is not enough.

4. Company Maturity

We typically engage with vendors at mid–Series A or beyond, where product-market fit is established and operational discipline is emerging.

Early innovation is welcome; fragility is not.

5. Credible Investors

We look closely at who is backing you. We expect investors who understand enterprise markets, value long-term outcomes, and won’t force short-term revenue behavior that damages clients.

6. Human Capability Beyond the Platform

We expect hands-on expertise, not just software.
We want to know:

Who do we call at 02:00?
Who helps interpret signals, not just generate them?
Who shows up when things get uncomfortable?

Tools don’t deliver outcomes. People do.

7. Clear ICP Discipline

You must have a well-defined Ideal Customer Profile and the discipline to say no outside it. One of the biggest weaknesses we find in early diligence is the answer to the questions:

'Who see's the output, who is looking at the glass?'

'What do they do with the insights they glean?'

Over-selling is grounds for removal.

8. Co-Investment in Market Engagement

We expect vendors to commit meaningful marketing and GTM funds to joint outreach. Our benchmark is a 3:1 introduction ratio—three qualified opportunities for every one OBS-led introduction.

We do not act as free lead generation. We are a consultative reseller we do not lite introductions as we hold ourselves accountable for all outcomes we help realise.

9. Serious Ambition

We partner with vendors who intend to build category relevance, not just exit quietly. That means ambition, resilience, and a willingness to be challenged.

If you’re playing small, we’re not the right partner.

10. Commercial Integrity

Transparent pricing
No last-minute discount theatrics
No channel games
If we can’t defend your commercials to a CISO or procurement team, we won’t carry them.

11. Openness to Scrutiny

By working with Observer, you accept:

Cool Board scoring
PartnerPULSE oversight
Client-visible feedback loops

We share what we see. Always. So if for whatever reason it doesn't work (nothing is perfect) we need to be able to explain to clients who trust us what went wrong and what we have learned.

12. Client-First Alignment

We reserve the right to:

Pause promotion
Reduce exposure
Remove vendors entirely

…if delivery falls short or trust is compromised.

What These 12 Criteria Mean in Practice

We are your hardest sell
We are your most demanding partner
If you meet our standards, we might become one of your strongest advocates

Observer Solutions exists to raise the bar—for clients and vendors alike because together we can reach impressive performance heights.

What It Takes To Work With Us:

Heads of Terms -Standard

Assuming you pass our diligence then we would like to look at agreeing terms.

Observer Solutions operates with absolute clarity. We exist to protect client outcomes and long-term trust. These principles are non-negotiable and form the basis of every vendor relationship we enter into.

We will be happy to review and if satisfactory agree your house terms but where we find gaps with any of the below we will ask you to close them first.

1. Transparency, Always

We operate in full view of both client and vendor.

No “man in the middle” behaviour
No selective disclosure
No private side agreements that undermine trust

What we recommend, we stand behind — openly.

2. Channel Protection Is Mandatory

We expect full protection on all jointly managed business.

We know the channel games. We know how quickly trust can be eroded.
Any attempt to bypass, dilute, or reframe our role damages the relationship — often irreversibly.

If we bring you in, we stay in. You work with us jointly to realise the agreed outcomes for our client. You recognise that anything that compromises this principle is damaging to us and potentially our clients.

3. Shared Commercial Risk

Observer Solutions is not a bank. We work on 30 days standard credit terms net of invoice date.

When we get paid, you get paid
When we don’t get paid, you don’t get paid

We operate on aligned incentives and shared accountability. If that model doesn’t work for you, we’re not the right partner.

4. Training Must Be Excellent — and Efficient

If we engage, we expect proper enablement, delivered with respect for time and seniority.

This means:

Structured, outcome-focused training
Fast access to people who actually know the product
Availability of senior technical and commercial leadership

Warning: Several vendors have failed at this hurdle. Poorly constructed induction programmes, generic enablement, and junior-only access waste time and erode confidence quickly.

5. Discount Model Agreed — and Honoured

We agree a discount and margin structure upfront. We operate to it. We expect you to do the same.

However, we reserve the right to review commercial terms if market reality diverges materially from the agreed GTM assumptions.

Sometimes reality trumps dreams.

6. No Over-Selling, Ever

You will not be asked — and must never attempt — to sell beyond the client’s real need or ICP.

Over-selling:

Damages the client
Damages Observer
Ultimately damages you

We are ruthless about removing underperforming or misaligned vendors.

7. Accountability Cuts Both Ways

We will:

Hold ourselves to delivery
Represent you honestly
Challenge clients where needed

In return, we expect:

Delivery against commitments
- Outcomes published and agreed with the client at or before PO
- QBR staging and progress reports to ensure tracking
- Complete openness on any projected shortfall and correction plans agreed with client
- No SLA misses
Openness to scrutiny (Cool Board, PartnerPULSE)
Willingness to improve, not deflect