The v9.4 service desk issues have put implementation and managed-service partners in the spotlight this month. The better ones have turned a difficult vendor release into a demonstration of value — triaging issues, communicating proactively, and pushing the vendor for a fix.
One pattern we have seen: partners with strong managed-support practices have kept affected customers stable through the incident, and are now guiding them onto the patch release. For end customers, the episode is a real-world test of who their partner is when something goes wrong.