IDC researchers chalked up most of the gap to efficiencies gained from the Microsoft partner program, such as research and development benefits, sales and marketing support and the difference in go-to-market strategies between the different channels.

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Microsoft partners spent less on research and development than non-Microsoft ISVs—an average 33 percent and 50 percent of revenue, respectively—and invested the bulk of the savings on sales and marketing efforts, granting them a leg up in market share, researchers said.

The Microsoft channel's reliance on a high-volume approach versus the low-volume, high-value approach of its competitors' channels also impacts performance figures, according to IDC analysts Matthew Lawton and Stephen Graham.

"In a business that is heavily oriented toward packaged software sales, the bulk of an ISV's revenue will come from selling the packaged software primarily to new customers, since existing customers typically do not replace their packaged software annually," a situation likely to change as SAAS (software as a service) delivery proliferates, the report said.

The survey also found that ISV partners with more narrow technical and business focus perform better than do those with broader partner networks.

The study underscores the need for vendors to make their channels profitable.

"Vendors have come to realize that attracting and maintaining a roster of profitable partners can lead to competitive advantage and enhance relationships with end-user customers," wrote Lawton and Graham in the report. "[And] partners are increasingly making technology adoption decisions based on hard-dollar business rationale."

The software maker is launching five new programs this year, including International ISV Assistance and ISV Telesales, to help get partner applications built to run on, and take advantage of, the three coming products.

This article was originally published on eWEEK.com.