Distributor (CAT-MIP-000000141)
Accepted • 2025-09-19 • by nicole
Definition
A Distributor is an organization authorized to resell vendor products and services. Distributors may operate under their own branding, manage multiple MSPs or sub- distributors, and may either directly support their downstream entities or rely on vendor for support. Distributors typically have visibility and limited control over the environments of their managed MSPs.
Prompt Examples
- Deploy the onboarding script to all new tenants under the distributor 'CloudBridge'.
- Does the distributor "EuroSecure" manage support for its MSPs or is it handled by vendor?
- List all MSPs under the distributor 'AlphaTech'.
Agent Execution
'When the term "Distributor" is used, the agent interprets the request as applying to an intermediary layer between vendor and one or more MSPs. The AI agent will':
- Check configuration settings to determine whether the Distributor or vendor owns support responsibilities
- Determine available product sets, policies, or automation workflows that the Distributor can access or propagate
- Query the organizational hierarchy to identify associated MSPs or tenants
- Restrict or allow actions based on permissions assigned at the Distributor level
Synonyms
- Aggregator (in legacy or specific sales contexts)
- Channel Partner
- Partner (ambiguous - avoid unless context is clear)
- Reseller (not exact. do not use. Resellers do not typically support products or access interfaces)
Relationships
- Distributor follows PolicyTemplate from vendor
- Distributor has Visibility into Tenant
- Distributor isManagedBy vendor
- Distributor manages SubDistributor
- Distributor resells Product
- Distributor supports MSP
History
| Date | Author | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-07 | nicole | Draft – initial term proposal |
| 2025-09-19 | nicole | Accepted – added to CAT-MIP registry |
| 2026-01-28 | mpurtell | |
| 2026-03-02 | jimmypuckett | Fix malformed YAML |