This post by Jay McBain highlights something that resonates strongly across the ecosystem space: the shift from TAM thinking to ecosystem-driven SOM reality. The model itself is well understood. But the real question is no longer 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵? It’s 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮? What’s often underestimated: SOM is not just a function of sales capacity – it is a function of ecosystem maturity. Partner capability, influence across the funnel, and the ability to activate the long tail at scale are becoming the real constraints to growth. That’s why ecosystem orchestration is shifting from a strategic concept to an operational discipline – one that depends on data, visibility, and execution at scale. This is exactly what we focus on at TIDWIT.
Our main job as partnership professionals is to identify, understand, enable, and expand SAM (serviceable available) and SOM (service obtainable) opportunities inside our firms. While every CEO and board member can tell you the vast multi-billion dollar TAM they are chasing, very few have a realistic view of the market that their products actually compete in, and then further narrowing the view by buyer type/role, industry, segment, geo, route to market, and partner influence. In the decade of the ecosystem, market sizing is no longer a static spreadsheet exercise; it is a dynamic assessment of your direct and indirect reach. Vendors (and partners) must stop viewing TAM, SAM, and SOM through the narrow lens of direct sales capacity: --> TAM (Total Addressable Market): This is the global demand for your company. It is the theoretical ceiling of all product offerings added together, often inflated by ambition and embellishment. --> SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market): This is the portion of the TAM that fits your current product-market match. It is gated by geographic reach, product sub-category, and specific subindustry vertical. --> SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): This is the reality check. It is what you can actually capture within the next 12–24 months based on your business capabilities and capacity today. SOM is where competition, internal resources, sales capacity, brand awareness, quantity and quality of integrations, alliances, as well as channel and services partnerships play a huge (and often sobering) role. Omdia reports 66.7% of the technology industry flowing through partners, and 96% of deals highly influenced by an average of 6.3 partners. ** Your SOM is effectively capped by the size and maturity of your channel. ** Over the past 50 years, the tech industry is notorious for the "best product" not end up winning the market. Nor does the best price or promotion. Place, or today known as platforms or partnerships, is what differentiates winners from losers. Partners no longer just provide the "last mile" of transaction. They own the majority (or all) of the 28 moments before the sale and rely on trust, specialized integration, and local expertise that a centralized sales team cannot replicate. It doesn't end there. A big portion of SAM and SOM is expansion of current clients (or wallet share gain). In an industry that is now 2/3 subscription and consumption based, partners are also surrounding the customer on every renewal forever. Upsell, cross-sell, and enrichment is also through the partner channel (not just a great internal CS/CX team). If you aren't co-selling with hyperscalers, aligning with regional and global SIs, managing long term with MSPs, integrating/stacking with ISVs, understanding the SAM of resellers/distribution, or incentivizing the long-tail of influencers, your SOM will remain a fraction of its potential. In modern tech, you don't "own" a market; you orchestrate an ecosystem to capture it.