What are the different types of channel partners?

Channel partners vary in market segmentation by size, by vertical industry, by geography, by private, government, educational, or other sector. Some partners cater to retail and residential customers. Some are catalog or direct resellers whose mission is to push vendor-partner products out to customers. Others have transitioned to be project-driven service providers who continue to pull products through with their projects, or managed service providers who pull often products through to update, upgrade, or replace older or faulty units. Beyond this are high-end consultative partners who influence sales but do not transact them.