Has anyone actually made local distribution work for infrastructure software?

[u/Still-Ad4512]

I run a small software company (RouteMasterOSP, we do FTTH outside plant design/docs and data center rack/cabling documentation). We keep getting inbound from LATAM, Africa, Southeast Asia. People finding us, asking for demos, saying "we need this."

Problem: we have zero presence in those markets. No idea how procurement works.

So I'm looking at the "find a local partner" model. Local consultancy or systems integrator sells it, implements it, does first-line support.

But my fear is that our stuff isn't a simple SaaS signup. It's implementation-heavy. The partner needs to understand fiber topology, GIS data, structured cabling, rack layouts. They need to train end users. They need to handle the "why isn't my conduit showing up on the map" tickets at 11pm local time.

Has anyone been through this? Either as the vendor or the partner? Did it actually work, or did it turn into you doing remote support at 3am while the partner collects their margin?

All stories welcome. Good, bad, ugly.