pod2112 Podcast: Recent Episodes
Seahorse Media
The 2112 Group's CEO and Chief Analyst Larry Walsh, one of the most recognizable figures in the IT channel community, leads thought-provoking discussions with expert guests on a wide range of technology and business topics including: cloud computing, information security, business analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and much more.
Technology is making the world move faster through analytics and automation. Businesses and individuals leverage the power of cloud computing and collaboration tools to interact without meeting face to face. In recent months, the value of these resources came to the fore as the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to shut down, send their staffs home, and initiate crash courses in socially separated working organizations. Even before the social unrest roiled the United States, business guru Tom Peters was thinking about the need for “Extreme Humanization,” in which businesses and people actively try to get closer through empathy and understanding. Peters argues that now, more than ever, we need humanization in our business world, communities, and politics. Peters, the author of several best-selling books, including “In Search of Excellence,” joins POD2112 to talk about the need for Extreme Humanization.
If we learned anything during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that cloud computing is the resilient resource it was always billed. Businesses leaned heavily on cloud-based resources and services to maintain operations as their staff shifted to work from home postures. At the same time, businesses – particularly SMBs – leaned on managed service providers to help them adopt, setup, and support their cloud services. The underlying challenge of cloud computing is setting up various services and understanding the total cost of ownership. A company helping MSPs simplify their path to the cloud is Nerdio. The company’s chief revenue officer, Joseph Landes, joins Pod2112 to discuss getting more MSPs into cloud services.
Over the past several years, vendors and solution providers have come under pressure to change their sales strategies and processes to meet evolving customer expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn are forcing a crash transformation as sales teams find themselves disconnected from partners and customers absent the usual communication venues such as events and face-to-face meetings. The COVID-19 crisis is compelling vendors and solution providers to rethink sales in the short and long term. The pandemic will change the way businesses and consumers buy, their expectations for sales and post-sales support, and how they measure value in the supplier-customer relationship. Tiffani Bova, global customer growth and innovation evangelist at Salesforce, former channel chief and Gartner channel analyst, and best-selling author of the book Growth IQ, joins POD2112 to talk about the changing nature of sales and growth during and after COVID-19.
No business is immune to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite having long-term and recurring contracts, managed service providers (MSPs) are feeling the pinch of the downturn as customers curtail or shut down operations. Many MSPs are reporting customers canceling contracts, downgrading services, or simply not paying. Fred Voccola, CEO of managed services tools provider Kaseya, says MSPs are resilient to economic downturns, if not resistant to recessions. However, he caveats his point of view that the world is experiencing depression-like economic conditions that will adversely affect MSPs as much as their customers. It’s when the world improves to more “recession-like” conditions that MSPs will recover and thrive faster than most businesses. Voccola shares more of what he sees in the managed services segment and his long-term outlook for MSPs in this episode of Pod2112.
COVID-19 displaced tens of millions of office workers around the world. Overnight, companies went from cubicles teeming with activity to distributed workforces operating from makeshift desks, dining room tables, and couches. The displacement took many companies by surprise, forcing them to hastily equip their work-from-home employees or allow staff to use personal devices. The situation created a security nightmare by exposing businesses and corporate data to increased risk. Managed service providers (MSPs) are working around the clock to help their customers secure devices and data during social distancing. SolarWinds, a provider of IT automation and managed service software, is among the vendors supporting MSPs with resources to aid customers in this crisis. SolarWinds’ Tim Brown, vice president of security architecture, joins POD2112 to discuss the security implications of work-from-home and how MSPs are coping with this surge in demand for support.
Customer experience is the metric that an increasing number of technology companies are using to define success. Customers are less interested in ROI and technical features, and more interested in the sum of their experiences with technology and the outcome of their technology investments. SAP has been reorienting its go-to-market philosophy and strategy around becoming “customer centric” – putting the end user at the center of its endeavors, including its channel initiatives. In this time of massive disruption and economic uncertainty, customer-centricity is even more important in ensuring that vendors and partners don’t lose touch with their clients. Karl Fahrbach, chief partner officer at SAP, joins POD2112 to discuss the customer-centric model, how it applies to channels, and why it’s important even as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic made managed service providers front-line responders to the crisis. As businesses scrambled to shift their workforces from office to remote, MSPs raced to get clients set up and running quickly with stable endpoints, platforms, and support. While MSPs are built to deliver services remotely, not all are equipped to meet the volume and variety of IT needs of their clients in the time of an extreme crisis. IT By Design – a master MSP that specializes in supporting solution providers with technical, infrastructure, and human resources – is seeing an increase in requests for help amid coronavirus. The pandemic’s mitigation measures are revealing the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for managed services. IT By Design CEO Sunny Kaila joins Pod2112 to discuss how MSPs are coping with COVID-19’s fallout.
SAP's Meaghan Sullivan joins POD2112 to share how the coronavirus outbreak could reshape marketing strategies in the long run.
As technology continues to evolve and the market adopts service-based models, many vendors question the value distribution is contributing, and will contribute, to the go-to-market equation.
Traditionally, distribution is the layer that provides logistics, contract manufacturing, customization services, financing, and technical support on behalf of vendors to their partners. Some people believe that cloud computing and other service-based models diminish the need for distribution, as there’s little product to ship and support.
But distribution is evolving. While distributors continue to offer the traditional “pick, pack, and ship” services, they’re also providing value-add services in marketing, market intelligence, business development, hosting, service management, and more.
In addition, distributors’ financing activities are proving more valuable than ever as vendors and partners look to recognize service contracts before their terms mature. And distributors continue to look for ways to reinvent themselves, adding value to the vendor, partner, and end-user segments of the technology market.
The chief advocate for the distribution segment and its value proposition is the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC).
Now under the leadership of channel veteran and icon Frank Vitagliano, GTDC is reinvigorating its mission of distribution advocacy with new programs and initiatives to help vendors understand what distribution is doing for them today and how distributors will continue to evolve over the next decade.
Vitagliano, who was a channel chief at IBM, Juniper Networks, and Dell, as well as the CEO of a systems integrator, has a unique perspective on distribution. He joins POD2112 to discuss the evolving value of distribution and how distributors will remain relevant in the service era.
Internet of Things (IoT) is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. Connecting legacy systems to autonomous sensors and controllers are opening new vistas for creating smart enterprises, manufacturing, cities and homes.
Vendors – old and new – are creating IoT components and systems to bring the smart world vision into reality. IoT architectures are popping up all over the channel. The expectations are high that IoT will result in greater user experiences and operational efficiencies. Moreover, IoT sellers and buyers have grand visions for immediate and ongoing returns on their investments.
On the supply side of the IoT equation is the manufacturing process. IoT devices – sensors and controllers – must often operate in cramped, remote, and exposed locations. IoT devices require durability, as they’ll operate in the wild for as long as a decade (or longer). And they require security during the manufacturing process to their lifetime operation. These are significant challenges the permeate the conception, design, manufacturing, architecture, deployment, and operational phases of the IoT lifecycle.
CoreKinect, an IoT design and manufacturing startup, is solving these IoT manufacturing challenges with a unique process for quickly translating IoT concepts into prototypes, and prototypes into finished products. And when it comes to manufacturing at scale, CoreKinect is building the products it brings to reality in the United States ensuring end-to-end security and quality at surprisingly competitive costs.
CoreKinect CEO and co-founder Assar Badri and president and chief strategist John Horn join Pod2112’s Larry Walsh to discuss the smarter way to design and build IoT devices and systems.
Device and everything as a service is not a new concept. Since the early days of managed services, channel pros and practitioners foresaw a day in which the tech industry sold and supported all devices, applications and resources as a service. With cloud computing and ubiquitous connectivity, everything as a service is a real and growing trend. Nevertheless, the channel – particularly in the SMB segment – is not addressing what some size as a $390 billion market. D&H Distributing – the leading distributor that largely focuses on SMB partners and market segments – is looking to convert nearly 70 million seats from traditional capital-expense hardware sales and software licenses to an end-to-end services-based consumption and support model delivered by solution providers. Jason Bystrak, vice president of the cloud business unit at D&H Distributing, joins Pod2112 to discuss the massive channel opportunity in everything as a service and how vendors and solution providers can participate in the multi-billion opportunity.
Channel chiefs change jobs all the time, but few get the opportunity to build a channel program from the ground up. Channel veteran Bill Lipson not only designed Cohesity’s recently launched channel program, but he did so as an outside consultant that grew into the job. Lipson, a widely regarded channel leader, joins POD2112 to discuss returning to the channel chief’s chair and the experience of building and launching a reimagined channel program.
Generating growth is a challenge for all technology companies. Few can create lightning in a bottle on their own. In many cases, vendors can catch a ride on the growth train by attaching themselves to another growing technology that they complement. In the case of Barracuda MSP, a division of Barracuda Networks that provides managed services for security and backup, that opportunity came with Microsoft’s push to increase the number of Office 365 business users. By many accounts, as many as 90% of Microsoft Office users are still on perpetual legacy licenses. Translation: The migration opportunity is huge for Microsoft, and every account that gets switched to the cloud-attached service will need several complementary services, such as security and backup. Neal Bradbury, vice president of MSP Strategic Partnerships at Barracuda MSP, is heading up the effort to ensure that Barracuda MSPs don’t miss the opportunity created by the Microsoft push. I recently spoke with Neal about how he approaches creating a strategy to draft on an existing trend. In this episode of POD2112, Neal shares guiding principles that all vendors can apply in their go-to-market strategies.
The indirect sales model was never intended to ensure or provide partner profitability. The profit of partner activities was and remains a product of what they provide to customers in value-added goods and services. Some technology vendors are making that principle the cornerstone of their channel profit model. By giving partners the breathing room, tools, and enablement to deliver more managed and professional services independently of their vendors, the more likely they can generate higher profits without consideration to the vendor’s products and margins. NetApp, which is rolling out a new go-to-market channel strategy, is among the vendors that are looking to make partners more profitable by giving partners the models, resources, and support that will make them profit independent. Chris Lamborn, head of worldwide partner go-to-market and programs at NetApp, joins Pod2112 to explain the strategy and potential benefits of partner profitability independence.
HP has a storied history of innovation and propelling change in its partners and customers’ organizations. HP is now undergoing a sweeping change in its leadership, organization, go-to-market strategy, and culture with the appointment of a new CEO, the creation of its first chief commercial officer, and the restructuring of its global framework. HP is aiming to meet future partner and market needs with a focus on technology innovation, services models, and efficiency. Reshaping large, global organizations isn’t easy or quick. The process takes inspiration, vision, planning, and time to execute. The changes announced at HP are two years or more in the making, and required getting thousands of people around the world onboard with the vision and executing in the same direction. Stephanie Dismore, the new managing director of HP’s newly created North America market, joins Pod2112 to talk about the changes and what it takes to turn a giant, global organization.
As the technology industry evolves with new and innovative products and services, partners face the challenge of acquiring new skills or losing business. The shortcut to satisfying customers, even when the products and skills are lacking, is referrals. Through referrals, partners can direct customers to trusted, qualified vendors and solution providers that can meet their technology needs. Referral programs offered by vendors, distributors and master agents provide the supply-side of the business with the ability to capture through-channel revenue regardless of the partner’s qualifications. And, referrals are often a catalyst for helping partners identify market opportunities that lead to skill and capacity acquisition. TBI’s national referral program director Bill Vander Vennet joins Pod2112 to talk about the value and power of referral programs for everyone in the go-to-market chain.
In the race to dominate the cloud computing era, Google Cloud is playing catchup to rival market leaders Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The difference maker, says Google Cloud’s management, is partners that are innovating with the cloud company and on behalf of their customers to building better, value-add solutions that produce better outcomes and return on investment. The strategy is already paying dividends as Google Cloud is expanding rapidly and picking up market share with the help of partners. Nina Harding, Google’s global chief of partner strategy and programs, joins Pod2112 to talk about how Google’s legacy of innovation is helping to make solution providers “imagineers” that devise new ideas, craft new solutions, and create new services in and around the Google Cloud.
The Internet of Things trend is creating massive product and service sales opportunities. Businesses are spending billions of dollars acquiring new sensors, infrastructure, and applications to leverage IoT devices and systems to improve operations, create new experiences, and capitalize on emerging models. In the channel, IoT is still an emerging opportunity. Vendors are developing channel programs, and solution providers are beginning to adopt the technologies.
The market, though, is still struggling to figure out how to best implement and maximize IoT investments with limited experience and resources. A potential solution is the extension of managed services to the IoT segment. Sensorium, a Carnegie Technologies company specializing in IoT managed services, is helping solution providers and their customers identify opportunities and capture business by providing the means and resources for delivering IoT as a service. Channel chief Amy Luby joins POD2112 to talk about the unfolding opportunities and potential in IoT managed services.
Once upon a time, when cell phones did little more than voice services, the go-to mobile device for business executives was the trusted Blackberry. These communications devices with their monochrome display, roller-ball controller, and physical keypad untethered busy executives from their personal computers by giving them mobile emails, text messages, and voice services.
The days of Blackberry the device is over, swept away by the flood of iPhones and Android devices. Blackberry the company, though, is enjoying a renaissance. Over the last five years, Blackberry reinvented itself as an Internet of Things and security vendor by leveraging the best of its legacy technology and expertise.
Blackberry has a sizable and growing network of channel partners, and it’s looking for more resellers, integrators and service providers that can help meet the growing demand for security, mobility, IoT solutions. Richard McLeod, global vice president of enterprise software channels, joins Pod2112 to talk about the transformation and evolution of Blackberry, and where the company wants to go with partners.
Strategy is something often talked about and considered a necessity in business yet is largely misunderstood and misapplied. An effective strategy is the combination of vision, objectives and direction that set the course and tempo of business. Through strategy, businesses have focus that drives their day-to-day operations and clarifies decision-making. Creating effective business strategy isn’t easy, though. Managers can get distracted by legacy interests and short-term incentives. Strategy, when done right, can ensure businesses remain properly oriented toward goals and prepared for near- and long-term market conditions. Thomas Jensen, executive vice president of German systems integrator Bechtle and a veteran strategist of Hewlett Packard and Maersk, joins Pod2112 to share what it takes to understand, build and execute effective business strategy.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming nearly every aspect of the commercial and consumer worlds. Through sensors, autonomous systems, and analytics applications, IoT is bringing automation and digital control to businesses, government agencies, and homes at an unprecedented scale. In 2019, businesses will spend more than $745 billion on IoT systems and services. By 2025, the world will have 75 to 125 billion IoT devices connected to the Internet. And that’s only the beginning. While IoT presents a tremendous opportunity for vendors and solution providers alike, the latter has been slow to act on this emerging opportunity, which is why distributor Ingram Micro is dedicating resources and support to help partners develop IoT practices. Eric Hembree, director of IoT at Ingram Micro, is leading the charge in developing the IoT channel. Hembree joins POD2112 to discuss the current and future state of the IoT market and channel.
Channel chiefs know they have to adapt or die in a technology market undergoing rapid and continuous change. Vendors are taking different approaches to channel transformation, but all have common characteristics that involve data analytics, cultural evolution, innovative compensation models, and new partner types and models.
At the annual Channel Focus North America, the premier channel executive event produced by Baptie & Co., 2112 CEO and Pod2112 host Larry Walsh moderated a panel on channel transformation in the digital transformation age. The panel featured four seasoned channel leaders who brought different perspectives to the channel transformation challenge. In this special edition of Pod2112 features highlights of the discussion with Alyssa Fitzpatrick of Microsoft, Nick Tidd of Poly, Darren Bibby of DocuSign, and Chris Jones of AT&T.
Steelcase’s Jennifer McCready on Smart Office Furniture Channels
Office furniture is big business, with companies ranging from SMBs to enterprises spending more than $11 billion annually on workstations, desks, chairs and other appointments necessary to operate a contemporary workplace. Many people think of office furniture as inert, a necessity that’s part of the operational infrastructure. However, office furniture is increasingly influencing or influenced by technology. Office workers need furnishing that enables, complements, and enhances the functionality of technology – everything from desktop computers to notebooks to displays to collaboration and teleconferencing equipment. As PCs replaced typewriters, office furniture manufacturers amended their designs to accommodate the digital devices. Today, they and their dealers are collaborating with technology companies and solution providers to integrate technology and furniture to create holistic, flexible, and productive work environments. Jennifer McCready, manager of global channel development at office furniture manufacturer Steelcase joins Pod2112 to talk about the evolution of office furniture and the potential for crossover collaboration in the technology channel.
Businesses are increasingly less interested in the features and functions of their IT equipment and software and more concerned about their experiences and the outcomes coming from their technology investments. Hybrid cloud computing is one of the biggest segments seeing this shift in customer expectations for better outcomes. VMware is seeing big gains from hybrid cloud computing, as it continues to shift its focus away from being the virtualization company that delivers hypervisors to a facilitator of cloud operations and management. A significant part of that shift is in the way VMware is transforming its channel program, partner relationships, go-to-market enablement, and incentives. Jenni Flinders, vice president, and global channel chief at VMware, is driving an ongoing channel transformation effort to enable partners to perform better in the outcome-based hybrid cloud computing market. Flinders joins Pod2112 to share how VMware is approaching channel transformation and how she sees the channel’s future unfolding.
In the global IT market, Latin America is lumped into the “rest of the world” category that contributes less than 10% of spending. Overall, the 48 Latin America countries and territories contribute less than 4% to global IT spending, making it a relatively small market.
Nevertheless, Latin America – a composite of South America, Central America and the Caribbean Islands – is a massive market opportunity. The region is home to more than 650 million people, two of the largest economies in the world – Brazil and Mexico, and $10.5 trillion in economic activity annually. The tremendous labor pool and abundant natural resources make Latin America a prime growth opportunity.
Doing business in Latin America isn’t easy, though. Political and economic instability, corruption, regressive import laws, complicated tax codes, high crime areas, and poor infrastructure makes Latin America look like a difficult – if not undesirable – place to do business.
Fernando Quintero, the vice president of Latin America at security vendor Crowdstrike, knows Latin America. A native of Venezuela, Quintero worked in around the Latin America market much of his career. He was a sales representative in Latin America and the Caribbean for Compaq, ran Latin American channels for McAfee, and oversaw Latin America as part of his role as the Americas channel chief at McAfee. Now, he’s developing the Latin America sales and channel go-to-market operation for Crowdstrike.
Quintero joins Pod2112 to share his insights and experiences in developing viable and thriving channel operations in the challenging but lucrative Latin America technology market.
If vendors are the suppliers of technology goods and services, and partners are the feet on the street, the distribution is the backbone of the entire go-to-market value chain. Traditionally, distribution served a valuable role in providing the warehousing and logistics that simplified inventory management for vendors and provided easy access to products for solution providers. No longer, though, as distributors are investing heavily in evolving their capabilities to become influences and catalysts of the end customer experience. Through investments in cloud computing, technical support, and professional services, distributors are anticipating market needs and helping vendors and partners develop new solutions and ply new routes to market. Paul Bay, executive vice president and group president of the Americas at Ingram Micro joins Pod2112 to discuss how the distribution segment of the technology industry is evolving its value proposition, and the role distributors will play in future go-to-market strategies.
Photocopiers and multifunction devices will remain fixtures of the office as long as the printed page remains. However, the days of the photocopier dealer are waning. It’s getting harder for dealers to remain viable selling and supporting photocopiers, which is why many have adopted IT managed services as a means for extending their value proposition.
Copier dealers have an advantage that many of their IT cousins don’t: A total view into the business operations of the customer. And that insider view enables copiers to identify technology needs, recommend solutions and deliver services. Today, the average channel partner earns more than 20 percent of their income from managed services, and the share of revenue derived from services will continue to grow as more customers adopt and expand with the IT as a service model. It’s truly a huge opportunity for all partners, but copier dealers in particular.
For the copier dealer channel, transformation isn’t so much an opportunity, but an imperative. As more businesses become digital, they move forward to a paperless environments. In fact, the printer technology segment has seen continuous decline in printed pages for the past decade. Managed services isn’t just about extending copier dealer value, but providing a pathway to renewed relevancy and viability.
Like many printer and copier vendors, Konica Minolta is working to help traditional dealers transform their legacy business models to adopt and extend into IT managed services. In a strategy that builds on adjacencies to its core photocopier and print business, Konica Minolta is providing copier dealers with the resources, training and support that enables them to participate in the managed services segment.
Sam Errigo, senior vice president of business intelligence services at Konica Minolta, joins Pod2112 to talk about the need for copier dealers to adopt managed services and what resources are available to help them make the transition from the static support to automated services.
Cloud computing dominates the IT industry as more vendors, partners, and customers adopt cloud-based services. According to Gartner, total worldwide cloud spending will top $431 billion this year, and it continues to grow at rates between 8 and 9 percent annually. Suffice it to say that cloud computing is a juggernaut that shows no sign of slowing anytime soon.
Cloud computing wasn’t always this way. Just a decade ago, Ingram Micro created its cloud computing division – Ingram Cloud – with much promise of growth, but also with a fair amount of apprehension. When Ingram held its first Cloud Summit in 2009, it didn’t have the marquee brands or high attendance. Ingram knew cloud computing was the next big thing, but the distributor didn’t know how it would unfold or how fast the channel would adopt it.
With a decade of experience under her belt, Ingram Micro Cloud’s Renee Bergeron joins POD2112 to reflect on the early days of developing a specialized cloud distribution division, the technology, trends that have changed over the years, and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for vendors, solution providers, and end users.
To say that the technology market is evolving is a bit of an understatement. Advancing technology and service-delivery models are changing the way vendors develop, sell, and deliver their products. Traditional routes to market just won’t cut it going forward, which is why many vendors are looking to transform their channels with new models, partner relationships, and value propositions. Transitioning and transforming channels isn’t easy, as it often means navigating a minefield of corporate political, cultural, and strategic conflicts. Getting channels to transform requires top-down leadership, which is why SAP recently appointed Karl Fahrbach its first chief partner officer, responsible for the company’s global channel go-to-market and transformation strategy. From Fahrbach’s perspective, vendors need true senior global leadership to drive meaningful change throughout their organizations. Without senior leadership, change will come slowly – if at all, he says. Fahrbach joins POD2112 to provide a first-hand overview of his new role and mission, and to discuss the necessity of having someone in his position.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen famously said software is eating the world. Perhaps, but it’s more like software is reshaping the world. Software, delivered via the cloud, is increasingly making the world more digitally defined. Each technology generation is giving us a greater ability to shape and reshape our business infrastructures with greater ease and speed. Digital transformation and evolving go-to-market models are also changing the nature of the channel, which is no longer just about reselling product. It’s about service delivery, completeness of solutions, and customer experience. Through this evolution, vendors’ go-to-market strategies will shift from traditional resellers to marketplaces for automated sales, independent software vendors for complementary applications that complete solutions, and professional service organizations for the expertise and support to create superior customer experiences. Toby Richards, general manager of partner GTM and programs at Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner organization, joins POD2112 to discuss how digital transformation is reshaping channel strategies, relationships, and go-to-market models. Despite the many challenges ahead of the channel, Richards and Microsoft see tremendous opportunities for partners that can meet the market’s evolving needs based on virtual systems and better outcomes.
Channel chiefs and organizations create and maintain all kinds of metrics to measure channel performance and identify challenges. While metrics are endemic to channel operations and all facets of business, channel organizations often find themselves at a disadvantage to their peer lines of business. Other parts of the vendor have profit and loss (P&L) statements through which they measure performance and contributions. Many channel metrics are easily dismissed because they’re not correlated to P&Ls. Riverbed Technology has come up with a novel solution to this problem – a virtual P&L for channels. The virtual financial statement draws a direct line to the actual P&Ls of the company and its divisions, showing how channels play in the grand scheme of a vendor’s success. Riverbed’s Cindy Herndon joins Pod2112 to talk about the development, utilization, and benefits of a virtual channel P&L.
Channel programs exist to extend the reach and capacity of a company’s go-to-market strategy. Channel partners are complements to a direct or inside sales force, providing vendors with reliable representatives in the field and customers with local points of sale. And through channel programs, vendors contain the cost of sales, as selling through and with partners is almost always less expensive than selling direct. Unfortunately, some companies see channel programs and partners as overlays and cost centers. They either don’t invest enough in channel programs or, in some cases, make it difficult for partners to succeed by giving support and resources short shrift. Investing in channels is not a guarantee of success, but starving channel programs of funding and resources will surely bring disappointment. Channel veteran Frank Rauch joins Pod2112 to discuss the need for vendors to invest in their channel programs and partners. As the new head of worldwide channels at Check Point charged with rebuilding the security powerhouse’s partner program, Rauch offers tried-and-true methodologies for defining and justifying channel investments.
Technology enables businesses to automate everything from processes to sales transactions, marketing messages to partner communications, and data generation to analytics. While many people feel like technology is trapping them into an endless cycle of always-on work lives, others see automation as a means of freeing people from the drudgeries of time-consuming tasks. Liz Cope, director of marketing technology and operations at Ingersoll Rand, joins Pod2112 to discuss her perspectives on how automation can give people the time they for human, personal interactions that make a difference in partner and customer relationships.
Cloud-based data backup and recovery is among the most popular services in the channel. Partners consistently see backup as a growth opportunity as demand continues to expand with the rising volume of data generated. Commvault is looking to better leverage channel partners to grow its business, and it’s brought on industry veteran Carmen Sorice to realign internal teams and enable channel partners to achieve higher levels of success. Sorice joins Pod2112 to talk about his mission and plans at Commvault, and to share some of the lessons he’s learned through his years of working in the channel.
Zoho’s Vijay Sundaram on Artificial Intelligence in Sales Management
Data – or at least, information – is the fuel of business. Executives and managers want data and intelligence to make better sense of the world around them, understand business opportunities and potential sales, and ensure they miss no potential chance to excel. Zoho, a company that’s pioneered cloud-based business applications, recently released a new platform, Zoho CRM Plus, which provides users with greater integration of related applications for managing sales, marketing, customer support and operations. An underlying component is Zia, Zoho’s artificial intelligence assistant that can analyze and report on trends and events uncovered in the interlinked data. Vijay Sundaram, Chief Strategy Officer at Zoho, joins Pod2112 to shed more light on how artificial intelligence and automation will improve the way businesses manage sales and customer relationships.
The Internet of Things is booming. Over the next decade, as many as 75 billion IP-enabled devices will connect to the Internet, enabling everything from automated home heating systems to automated factories. People talk about the big IOT opportunities in the channel, but often in the abstract. Master agent Chorus Communications isn’t waiting for the IoT haze to clear. It recently launched a new initiative to enable its resellers, managed service providers and telecom agents with skills, resources and insights into IoT market opportunities. It invested in developing new connection options to carry IoT traffic. And it’s launched into the market with an IoT health care offering that monitors and manages prescription drug consumption. Chorus Communications’ Rob Molinaro joins Pod2112 to discuss his company’s IoT initiative, the resources it’s providing partners, and its expectations for getting ahead of the IoT market curve.
Channel events and conferences are common, but not always great. Vendors want to build enthusiasm and momentum by bringing partners together to hear about products, programs, and objectives. Achieving that goal takes more than just setting dates and bringing partners to a hotel ballroom. It requires vision and thoughtful planning and execution. And what happens before and after channel events is just as important as what happens at the conference itself, if not more so. Lori Cornmesser, Infoblox’s vice president of worldwide partner and alliance sales, joins Pod2112 to talk about her first partner summit at Infoblox and what it takes to pull off a great partner event.
The job of a channel chief is to build and manage relationships with partners to generate sales that contribute to their company’s goals. They curate those relationships through channel programs designed to reward partners based on their investments and performance. Channel chiefs frequently look to improve their programs, but often within or additive to their existing program structures. Rarely does a channel chief get the opportunity to build a whole new channel program from the ground up in an organization that has a channel. That’s the opportunity Sandra Glaser Cheek had at Ciena. She and her team spent the last year building a new, innovative channel program in parallel to their existing program. Building the channel program took much planning, coordination and investment. Cheek joins Pod2112 to talk about her new program, the Ciena Partner Network, and what it took to build a channel that’s different from the standard model.
Channel conflict is an unavoidable fact. Despite the controls and efforts of channel leaders, vendors and partners invariably come into conflict by competing for the same business in the field. Partners generally accept that channel conflict will happen periodically and that they’ll sometimes find themselves on the losing side of the conflict-resolution equation. What matters more to partners is how vendors try to mitigate conflict and adjudicate incidents. Failure to curb channel conflict can cost vendors and partners alike – and dearly. Atrion Communications is learning about the severe effects of channel conflict as its grapples with the aftereffects of one of its primary vendors taking a deal direct. Atrion lost $9.5 million on the deal, and a whole lot more. Atrion CEO Pat Grillo joins Pod2112 to share his story and discuss what vendors need to know about the consequences of channel conflict from a partner’s perspective.
The IoT space consists of billions of devices, touches a variety of vertical markets, and presents an extraordinarily large total addressable market. For innovative entrepreneurs, the key to success today is developing IoT solutions that are highly scalable, repeatable, and reliable. Investors seek entrepreneurs who can create widely consumable enterprise solutions to solve real-world problems; achieve efficiencies with data; make intelligent observations; and match the right solutions to the right customers. Michael Dolbec, senior managing director of venture capital and corporate business development at GE Ventures, talks to Pod2112 about the future of IoT and what makes a digital start-up investment-worthy in today’s competitive climate.
In a world where tens of billions of Internet-enabled devices communicate with one another, we can now do things we never could before. Think home automation, self-driving cars, and telemedicine. By leveraging IoT and fog and edge computing, today’s businesses can identify KPIs and extract immense value from the data that’s generated and shared by connected devices. Perry Lea, principal technologist at Microsoft and the co-founder of Rumble, joins Pod2112 to discuss the growth path of these technologies, how Moore’s Law is impacting their evolution, why fog computing is the clear route to our future, which industries will flounder and excel, and how systems integrators can tap the fog to add value to systems and solutions.
Cisco’s Andrew Sage: The Vendor Perspective on Distribution
Distribution is a valued resource for the technology industry and channel. For decades, distributors have provided vendors and partners with the logistical support they need to get products into the hands of customers. While distributors continue to provide valuable services and support to vendors, the market is changing rapidly as vendors, partners, and customers shift their models to services, and many vendors are questioning what role distribution will play in the services era. Will distributors, many of which have developed services arms and added more support mechanisms, continue to provide the value-add support that vendors rely upon today? Andrew Sage, vice president of Americas distribution at Cisco Systems, joins Pod2112 to discuss the evolving role and value of distribution from a vendor perspective.
Hardware and software companies such as Cisco, IBM, and Microsoft built the technology channel. They recruited and cultivated value-added resellers, systems integrators, and managed service providers to reach niche market segments, provide integration and customization services, and deliver maintenance and administrative services. Companies tapping into the technology channel today don’t necessarily look like Cisco and Microsoft. They don’t even look like Google and Amazon, but technology is so pervasive that every company is a technology company at some level. These new companies tapping the technology channel leverage cloud computing and software to deliver their services, and they’re discovering that they need the resources and capabilities of technology channel partners to meet customer needs and drive growth. Square, which provides sellers with software services to run and grow their businesses, is one such company. It’s launched a channel program to tap VARs, systems integrators, and digital agencies to help users connect its payment, point-of-sale, and payroll services to other systems and reach new customers and markets. Pankaj Bengani, the global partnerships lead at Square, joins Pod2112 to discuss how the company recognized its need for channel partners and how it plans to leverage partners’ technical capabilities to facilitate growth.
Consolidation is rampant in the managed services segment, with vendors building and acquiring multiple capabilities to enable MSPs to provide wide arrays of managed, security, and backup services. The goal of these vendors is to create one-stop shops for MSPs so they need not go anywhere else for their tools. While this sounds like a good strategy, it flies in the face of a decade in which MSPs built their technology capabilities through a best-of-breed approach. The question: Is the one-stop-shop approach better than the best-of-breed method for building managed services practices? Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola joins Pod2112 to talk about how his company is finding success with the one-stop-shop approach and how that model will sustain continued growth.
Businesses want the benefits of Big Data, as they see data-driven decision-making as a means for making better choices that generate higher returns with less risk. At least that’s the promise. Before businesses can leverage the power of Big Data, though, they first need “the data.” Each day, businesses generate terabytes of structured and unstructured data from traditional endpoints and network systems, mobile devices, and an increasing volume of Internet of Things devices. Collecting, cataloging, and managing that data for use in analytics is a huge challenge. Informatica’s Balaji Subramanian shares insights on how to gain control over the piles of bits and bytes that are the raw fuel for Big Data.
Silicon Valley is where technology dreams are made. Tech entrepreneurs are like the forty-niners of the California Gold Rush; they’re flocking to the tech centers in hopes of hitting the mother lode with their innovative and great ideas. But building a business is hard. It takes vision, planning, hard work, money, and determination. Not every tech venture makes it, and very few make it big. But those few start-ups that are extraordinarily successful have a special name: unicorns. A unicorn is a start-up valued at $1 billion or more. What does it take to build a unicorn? Crowdstrike Co-founder and CEO George Kurtz joins Pod2112 to talk about what it took to start his innovative endpoint security company and get it to that unicorn status.
Managers make decisions every day that affect their staff, businesses, partners and customers. Decision-making is both art and science. Managers must weigh options and available evidence to make sound decisions. Making decisions is unavoidable, and it can be scary. Some managers avoid decision making or make safe choices out of fear that the wrong move could hurt their careers. Managers should fear decision making, and they shouldn’t seek absolutes in the decision-making process. Decision making is about making the most reasonable choices at the right time. Julie Parrish, the chief operating officer at RedSeal and technology industry veteran, joins Pod2112 to talk about the elements of sound decision making and how managers can make better decisions that result in better outcomes.
Brands are more than just the names of companies and products. Brands are the embodiment of corporate missions and value propositions. While brands don’t make products, products can make define brands and buyer propensity to use a company’s products and services. Through brand building, companies position themselves for purchasing consideration, customer loyalty and market influence.
Some brands are so successful that they become genericized, becoming known for their company and/or products as well as the products of competitors. Branding isn’t an overnight exercise. It takes careful crafting to ensure the message aligns with the products and mission, and then it takes a persistent delivery to the target market to ensure prospective buyers understand and internalize the brand message and value.
Toni Clayton Hine, chief marketing officer at Xerox, knows the benefits and challenges of brand building. Hine oversees a brand synonymous with photocopying and the printed page; a brand so well known that it’s hard to think of any other copier vendor without thinking Xerox. But she’s also challenged with evolving the brand so people recognizes Xerox’s existing and future capabilities in document management, business process optimization, and time-savings solutions.
Hine joins Pod2112 to discuss brand building and brand management, sharing what every company needs to know about brand power.
While professional services players such as accountants, lawyers, and marketing firms have operated on the IT channel’s periphery, they’re coming out of the shadows, and in greater numbers. Thanks to cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT), they’re joined by a cohort of non-IT manufacturers of consumer and commercial durable goods. Collectively, these are the specialized channel partners, and they’re part of a growing segment of resellers, service providers, and influencers that are opening new routes to market for IT vendors. Rod Baptie, president of Baptie & Co., has long talked about the potential power of specialized channel partners. Even with this influx of non-traditional partners, he believes the IT channel is still in the early days of leveraging specialized channels.
Cloud computing isn’t just a hardware replacement. Cloud infrastructure has little use without applications, and the volume of cloud-enabled software is increasing rapidly. The need for applications that run on cloud-based infrastructure or enhance cloud-based software services is changing the way vendors think about their go-to-market strategies and partnerships. Cloud providers are building software-rich marketplaces that enable customers to access the resources they need to get the most out of their services. And vendors are fostering broad cloud ecosystems of application developers and independent software vendors to bring more applications into the cloud. Chris Rimer, vice president of IBM’s North America Cloud Ecosystems for Business Partners & Channels, joins Pod2112 to talk about the evolving nature of cloud partnerships, alliances, and go-to-market strategies.
A funny thing happened on the way to the cloud: The way we conduct business and sales changed. No longer is the technology market merely a series of transactions and box shipments. Fixation on quote retirement doesn’t do much to help partners develop books of business that result in stable and predictable recurring revenue streams. Partners need support in business transformation and maturation, and they need it from their channel account managers. Getting CAMs to act more like business development managers takes more than changing job descriptions. Vendors need to provide CAMs with direction, training, and resources. They also have to change their compensation plans. Carlos Blanco, senior director of Worldwide Cloud Service Providers at Citrix, joins Pod2112 to talk about the need for transforming the role of channel account managers in the cloud computing era.
The technology market is in a constant state of evolution. Disruptive and emerging technologies – cloud computing, mobility, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, etc. – and new delivery models – services and hybrid infrastructure – are disrupting the traditional channel. Vendors are aligning their channel programs to these new models. While channel strategy is evolving to meet current and future market dynamics, some things will not change. Alex Hart, a veteran executive of such vendors as Symantec, VMware, and Verizon Enterprise, joins Pod2112 to talk about the partnering fundamentals that remain unchanged amid disruptive technology trends. He also talks about his new role as senior vice president of strategic services at The 2112 Group.
Cloud computing was supposed to change everything about go-to-market strategies, and that included disrupting channel partners – and possibly making them obsolete. But it turns out that channel partners are as important as ever in helping vendors reach cloud customers. Surprisingly, many of the same incentives used in traditional channel programs are equally applicable in the cloud era. As Tina Gravel, senior vice president of channels and alliances at co-location vendor Cyxtera says, vendors are paying partners for access to customers, and traditional incentives like deal registration work well in this context. What works well, too, is co-selling, as many partners need help selling complex cloud services. All this adds up to vendors – both traditional and cloud – leaning on their standard incentive tools well into the cloud era.
Every vendor wants partners to produce more revenue. The challenge is getting partners onboarded and enabled to sell and support vendors’ products and services. The channel is an important source of revenue for vendors, but not always quick. For many vendors, the onboarding and enablement process can take as long as six months, which delays partners from getting in the field to prospect and sell. Fast partner time to revenue is important because it gives vendor management confidence in the value of the channel program. For channel managers, though, partner time to revenue is a strong indicator of the potential of channel partners. Natasha Loeffler-Little, the head of North America channels at SAP Ariba, joins Pod2112 to talk about the importance and strategies for using partner time to revenue as a leading channel indicator.
Security professionals have long dismissed security by obscurity or attempts to hide information from hackers. In such schemes, hackers will sniff through the decoys and find the real assets. A new class of security technology – distributed deception – may change that thinking. Distributed deception creates authentic looking IT environments – complete with data and applications – to trick hackers. Through this approach, security teams can detect and stop attacks faster than through conventional means. Carolyn Crandall, the chief deception officer and chief marketing officer of Attivo, joins Pod2112 to talk about how distributed detection can make enterprise security more effective.
Since the revelation that Cambridge Analytica harvested data from millions of Facebook accounts, people from Main Street to Capitol Hill are asking what privacy means in the age of social media. Many politicians are calling for new regulations to restrict what information companies can collect from their online users as well as what they can do with that data. Raj Goel, CTO and founder of security MSP Brainlink, and author of “UNPLUGGED Luddite's Guide To CyberSecurity.: What To Teach Your Kids & Grandparents Before They Access The Internet,” joins Pod2112 about the need for regulations to govern how companies gather and use personal data without crippling the ability to gather the raw material for beneficial technologies, such as Big Data.
Consumerization is no longer just a retail thing, as businesses increasingly source IT products through automated channels and marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba. In a new research paper titled "Strategies for Engaging Automated Digital Sales Channels," The 2112 Group is taking a hard look at how this shift toward automated digital sales will roil traditional two-tier channels and force new relationships between vendors and partners. In this special episode of POD2112, Research VP Chris Gonsalves talks with the paper's author, 2112 CEO and Chief Analyst Larry Walsh, about ADS's potential impact on the existing channel and vendor go-to-market models, and how vendors should plan for this disruptive but potentially lucrative trend.
Security breaches are nearly a daily occurrence. Blaming hackers and foreign agents for hacking is easy, but the reality is that end users are largely responsible. Security policy violations, poor user practices, and outright carelessness are the root causes of most computer security incidents. Some think security awareness training is the solution, but this approach often fails because the materials and programs are unrelatable and poorly executed. Former managed services entrepreneur Zack Schuler saw the need for a better approach and started NINJIO, a firm that produces relatable, actionable security awareness content. Schuler joins Pod2112 to discuss how innovative approaches to security awareness training can yield better results.
Management guru Tom Peters spent the past five decades studying operational effectiveness in public and private organizations around the world. He rose to fame with his first book, “In Search of Excellence,” in which he first posited the notion that the pursuit of excellence is an underlying attribute in successful organizations. In his new book, “The Excellence Dividend,” Peters tells readers to try more things, screw more things up, hang out with more interesting people, and – above all – not settle for anything less than excellence. Peters joins Pod2112 to talk about “The Excellence Dividend,” why soft skills are more important in business than hard skills, why execution is more important than analysis, and how managers and companies need to slow down to truly reach their potential for excellence.
Channel chiefs often talk about improving “ease of doing business” between vendors and partners. Making things easier means sales will flow faster, followed by more revenue that benefits vendors and partners alike. However, the systems, processes and policies in channel programs create a labyrinth of complexity for partners. The more time partners spend navigating vendor systems and complying with policies, the less time they spend working with customers and generating sales. Rodolpho Cardenuto, president of SAP’s Global Partner Operations, believes creating frictionless partnerships is a necessity to ensure vendors and their partners are able to keep pace in meeting market needs and expectations. Cardenuto joins Pod2112 to talk about what it means to create and maintain frictionless channel programs.
Managed services is a mainstay in partner business models. 018 Channel Forecast Report, partners now generate more revenue from managed services than they do from hardware and software sales. And, aside from professional services, managed services is the second highest source of profit. With their scalable capacity and recurring revenue models, managed services generate net margins up to 40 percent. 2112’s Channel Chief Outlook survey found 39 percent of vendors believe the majority of their revenue will come from managed services providers by 2023. Michael George, CEO of managed services enabler Continuum, believes the managed services model continues to thrive because it solves many challenges, including closing the gap on talent, resources and security issues. George joins Pod2112 to talk about the staying power managed services in an increasingly complex world.
The news and social media are replete with bad news. As the old saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” And people naturally gravitate to negative news and data than they accept positive outlooks. A catalyst of bad news is technology, as it both conveys information and is the source of disruption. Technology gets blamed for many of the world’s ills, and the technology industry relies on fear, uncertainty and doubt to sell products. Author and journalist Gregg Easterbrook has a different perspective – a cynical optimism, as he describes it – and catalogs why we’re better off today than ever before, thanks in large part to technology, in his new book, It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear. Easterbrook joins Pod2112 to talk about the appeal of "declinism" and why the world is much better than we perceive.
The new film, Ready Player One, portrays a dystopian world dominated by a Google-like company that provides everyone with access to a fantastic virtual world. The promise of virtual reality technology from companies like Oculus Rift always seems over the horizon, but VR and augmented reality are coming and, when they arrive, they’ll change the way people communicate, consume content and conduct commerce. Virtual and augmented reality will change the way technology companies market their products, interact with customers, and deliver their goods. Nick Bicanic, founder of RVLVR Labs, is helping to shape this digital future by developing virtual and augmented reality technology and content. In his view, VR and AR will make technology more accessible and less intrusive than anything available today.
Aside from the excitement of Bitcoin, blockchain isn't a widely understood technology. Yet, blockchain has the potential of revolutionizing whole industries. It's already impacting currencies, insurance, financial services and logistics. It could soon become part of the fabric of daily life, making the Internet more open and more secure. Andrew Bolwell, the global head of technology vision and resident futurist, joins Pod2112 to talk about the huge potential of blockchain that lies just over the digital horizon.
The channel is optimistic about its fortunes in 2018. Partners and channel chiefs see growth this year, according to the new 2112 Channel Forecast report of partner performance sentiment and the new Channel Chief Outlook report that details channel leader’s performance expectations from a vendor’s perspective. 2112’s Larry Walsh and Chris Gonsalves break down all the intelligence in this data-fueled edition of Pod2112.
A vendor can grow two ways: Organically, in which it exerts effort to find customers and expand sales, or through acquisitions, where it buys technology, capacity and customers from a complementary company. The management team of data governance software vendor Erwin decided from the beginning that their company would grow largely through acquisitions. In the last two years, Erwin has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of capabilities and revenue through the purchase of companies with complementary technology. The strategy is paying off and, as CEO Adam Famularo shares, shows the results of strategic acquisition planning.
Unlike traditional hardware and software products, cloud computing needs no warehouses, shipping and handling, and – in many cases – credit and financing. Consequently, many people have speculated that cloud computing will disrupt legacy pick, pack and ship distributors. Some people go as far to say cloud computing could eliminate the need for distributors all together. But a new class of cloud distributors are emerging from the disruption fog to demonstrate the two-tier model has value in the services era. Pax8’s Chief Channel Officer and Co-Founder Ryan Walsh joins Pod2112 to talk about the emergence of what some call “anti-distributors” plying a new course in distribution.
Technology companies hear all the time that innovation is the means to sustained success. In reality, though, legacy culture, processes, and business structures often suffocate innovation from becoming a success. Unitrends, an established backup technology vendor, devised a plan for launching into the managed services market. Rather than just forming a new business unit or simple product offering, Unitrends spun out its fledgling venture as a separate company, Unitrends MSP, in the belief it would thrive unencumbered by the legacy organization. Unitrends MPS CEO Mike Sanders joins Pod2112 to talk about spinoffs as a development and growth strategy.
Cloud adoption is on the raise, as businesses continue to expand their use of cloud-based infrastructure, applications and support services. Reselling through partners provides a means for reaching customers and covering the total addressable market. Resellers adding cloud services to their portfolio and vendors indiscriminately adding partners to their programs isn’t necessarily effective. Vendors and distributors, says PlanetOne Communications CEO Ted Schuman, should establish standards and instill performance expectations in their cloud channel programs.
Small and midsize businesses are not smaller versions of enterprises. They do not have the IT staffing and budget resources of the much larger counterparts. But IT resources aren’t the only thing they lack. SMBs often don’t have the complement of back office resources or infrastructure for many of the functions required for well-structured and efficient business operations. IT and business services are a means by which SMBs obtain the technology, support and materials they need to drive their businesses forward. Office Depot’s Janet Schijns, executive vice president and chief merchant and services officer, and Michelle Ragusa McBain, director of technology sales and services, join Pod2112 to talk about the growing need and opportunity for business services in the SMB segment.
Vendors and solution providers love services for their predictable revenue and high profitability. Services are so popular that the industry is racing to make every product a service. So how do traditional hardware vendors keep their partners engaged and excited about selling legacy and commoditized hardware products? How do hardware vendors attach their PCs, servers and appliances to next-generation services? Sammy Kinlaw, vice president of Lenovo North America Channel and U.S. SMB market segment, is working on just that challenge. Kinlaw joins Pod2112 to discuss how services are enhancing and opening opportunities for partners that sell and support traditional hardware products.
No one thinks a crisis will befall their business until a CNN van rolls into their parking lot. When that happens, it's outright chaos. Colorado-based solution provider Platte River Networks had that very thing happen to it in 2016 when news broke that it was the administrator of the controversial email server of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Overnight, Platte River was thrust into the national spotlight, intensely scrutinized by the press, investigators, politicians and customers. Platte River's vice president of sales and marketing, David DeCamillis, joins Pod2112 to talk about lessons learned from that experience and why it's imperative that every company have a crisis management contingency plan.
No vendor can provide for all the market’s technology needs, which is why many partner to build greater value by making their products interoperable and combining their go-to-market sales resources. However, partnership doesn’t mean frictionless. In many cases, partnering vendors are also competing with overlapping products and services. Microsoft’s Gavriella Schuster says accepting that you’re sometimes a partner and sometimes a competitor is necessary for finding success in the complex technology market.
The mobile workforce makes wireless networks imperative. Many managed service providers are incorporating managed wireless networking as part of their offerings. But a few industrious MSPs are making a leap forward by helping end users leverage data gleaned from WiFi networks into actionable business intelligence. Turning WiFi into BI is no simple matter, but has great potential for generating higher value engagements for MSPs and their vendors. Wireless networking vendor Aerohive’s Michael O’Brien joins Pod2112 to discuss how MSPs are tapping into the business intelligence opportunities with managed WiFi.
Vendors often talk about the importance of “ease of doing business” with partners. Many partners, though, are moving away from the reseller model in favor of their own services. The reason: Vendors are anything but easy when it comes to enabling partners to resell product. Former VAR turned service provider Andrew Plato of security specialist Anitian joins Pod2112 to discuss everything that’s wrong with the conventional vendor-partner reseller model and why reselling product is increasingly less advantageous. Every vendor needs to hear this.
Women make up more than half the population, but remain underrepresented the technology industry. That’s changing thanks to the advocacy and support efforts of several enablement groups, which help aspiring women establish and cultivate technology careers. Michelle Ragusa-McBain, a customer and partner experience manager at Cisco and chairperson of the CompTIA Advancing Women in Technology community, joins Pod2112 to discuss the need for supporting women’s technology careers and the resources available to aspiring and establish technology-career minded women.
As much as cloud computing is transforming the way technology is consumed and opening new opportunities for vendors and channel partners, it is not immune to the forces of commoditization. Many cloud-based services have already shed their original value, resulting in a loss of their profitability. Avoiding commoditization requires continual innovation and the addition of value-added services. Mike Gold, CEO of Intermedia, joins Pod2112 to discuss what it takes to beat back commoditization and maintain profitability for vendors and partners alike.
The Internet of Things trend is exploding. Billions of IP-enabled devices are flooding the market, and soon we’ll have multiple more connected devices than we have people on the planet. IoT is opening massive new opportunities in new and legacy technology, but these opportunities require new thinking about infrastructure, business models, and go-to-market strategies. The 451 Group’s Christian Renaud joins Pod2112 to break down the Internet of Things trends and opportunity.
The adage “necessity is the mother of invention” is the reason behind many technical innovations that become leading vendors. For some ambitious partners, necessity is the starting point for developing products and becoming vendors. A person who’s undergone that metamorphosis is Colin Knox, founder and CEO of Passportal, who converted his managed services’ challenges into an opportunity that is now a fast-growing software company. Knox joins Pod2112 to talk about his transformation journey – from idea to risk to success.
Everyone agrees that effective communication is paramount to maintaining organizational cohesiveness and focus. Words have the power to change the course of companies and nations. Yet, many executive find stringing words together a daunting challenge. Worse, too many executives and organizations rely on PowerPoint as their primary communication medium. Writing expert and chief troublemaker of WOBS, Josh Bernoff, joins Pod2112 to explain how executives can better get their messages across more effectively.
When it comes to economic issues, all eyes tend to point at Wall Street and the large corporations traded in the stock exchanges. But it’s entrepreneurs that create innovations, jobs and wealth – particularly in the technology industry. Matt Nachtrab, the new CEO of eFolder, is a certified serial entrepreneur. He joins 2112 to talk about embracing and committing to the entrepreneur spirit rather than taking another job in a big, bureaucratic corporation.
The market is not good for retail. Thousands of retail stores are shuttering as consumers shift spending to online marketplaces. And it’s not just consumers going online; more than 30 percent of all B2B transactions are through marketplaces. Savvy retailers are adjusting their business models to meet the new market realities. Office Depot’s Janet Schijns joins POD2112 to talk about the changing market landscape and how smart retailers are evolving to remain competitive and relevant.
Community is a word we often hear around the channel. Solution providers think of themselves as part of a large family. Channel events are like high school reunions and family gatherings as much as they’re learning and education venues. Through communities, vendors and partners form networks of collaborators and confidants. They gain access to resources, opportunities, and markets. And, most of all, they learn from the best – and sometimes, the worst – of their peers. SolarWinds director of community, Dave Sobel, shares insights on the importance of communities, how to build them and what vendors can get from networking their partners.
In many vendor channel organizations, sales and marketing are often treated as separate and distinct functions. Channel Maven CEO Heather K. Margolis and 2112’s Larry Walsh talk about how sales and marketing need deep collaboration to create value propositions, generate customer demand and drive channel sales.
Barracuda MSP, the managed services division of Barracuda Networks, and The 2112 Group teamed up to measure the State of Managed Services in North America and Europe. This extensive study finds managed services is pervasive in the channel, yet most partners aren’t taking full advantage of the recurring revenue model. Barracuda MSP general manager Brian Babineau joins Pod2112 to discuss trends in managed services and tips for unlocking the business model’s potential.
Cloud computing, mobility, Big Data and automation are powerful and disruptive trends, but they all are dependent on one thing: networks. Without data and voice networks, cloud computing and mobility are practical impossibilities. Comcast Business’s Craig Schlagbaum talks about the power of networks and how carriers and cable companies are providing the foundation for technology and services innovation in the digital economy.
The technology market is in a constant state of flux. Vendors, partners and customers are coping with the pressure of six major transformative technology trends simultaneously. Moreover, these trends are reshaping business and sales model. The challenge is adapting to new market conditions and capitalizing on new opportunities before rivals and the onset of commoditization. Tarkan Maner, CEO and chairman of Nexenta, knows a thing or two about staying ahead of disruption. His company is moving beyond flash storage to software-defined storage and software-defined infrastructure. Staying ahead of disruption requires constant what-if questioning, through which Maner sees limitless opportunities.
When vendors talk about “partners,” they typically mean solution provides, value-added resellers, systems integrators or some other technology-focused product reseller. Nowadays, technology is creeping into verticals, turning accountants, health care providers, consumer product manufacturers, and civil engineers into technology vendor partners. They’re part of a new class of specialized partners. Taylor Macdonald, senior vice president of channel sales at Intacct, a cloud-based ERP and accounting software vendor, knows a lot about specialized partners, and he shares his insights of finding, working with and rewarding nontraditional partners.
Marketing isn’t just advertising, it’s the art of conveying a message that resonates with the target audience and convincing buyers to separate dollars from their wallets. One of the more effective ways of conveying marketing messages and building brand affinity is humor. Whether it’s a video depicting what a conference call looks like in real life or six-inch lizard selling us auto insurance, humor captures our attention because it’s entertaining, easy to recall and relatable. Michael Parker, the CMO of Internet of Things security startup Armis and star of the YouTube hit “Deadpool Musical - Beauty and the Beast ‘Gaston’ Parody,” joins Pod2112 to talk about effective use of humor in tech marketing.
The days of selling technology on features are over. Customers – particularly Millennials – want a superior experience with their technology; they want to enjoy their technology tools and use them to produce greater value. The goal of technology vendors is delighting customers and keeping them in a euphoric state through the product use lifecycle. Kevin Gilroy, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics, knows a thing or two about building the right solutions for their market, simplifying complex systems and delighting customers to keep them engaged. Gilroy shares his insights and approaches to delighting customers.
The channel is often referred to as a community, largely because it’s a close-knit network of people specialized in working with partners as a route to market. Community fits because few people ever leave the channel. The running joke is there are only a couple of hundred channel people; they just change companies every few years. Graduating from the channel is the aspiration of many people. Just how do channel pros – known for their ability to drive partner revenue – achieve cross-over success? Julie Parrish, a well-known channel veteran and current chief marketing officer of security vendor RedSeal, joins Pod2112 to talk about how channel pros can curate their careers to crossover into non-channel jobs.
Analysts’ reports disagree on the exact value of the emerging Internet of Things market, but huge is a common statement on the potential value. Vendors are racing to figure out their IoT strategies and push products into the field. Progress Software, a company better known for its developer and interoperability tools, refocused on enabling IoT. Channel chief Kim King joins Pod2112 to talk about the IoT pivot and the lessons learned in creating an IoT-centric organization, culture, and channel.
Managed services veteran and evangelist Rob Rae, vice president of business development at Datto, joins Pod2112 to talk about the gaining popularity of managed services among vendors and solution providers, the importance of building strong services businesses and the mistakes large vendors make in transitioning to managed services and recurring revenue models. As Rae says, smaller companies have an advantage in adopting and capitalizing on the recurring revenue model.
Gary Fish, the serial entrepreneur who founded FishNet Security and FireMon, is at it again. His latest venture, FishTech Group, aims to reshape the definition of channel partnerships. Rather than pushing product sales, Fish and his team are focusing on innovating on emerging technologies such as advanced security, artificial intelligence and robotics. The product is a better, more valuable user experience. Fish joins Pod2112 to share his vision for what he calls, “building the Anti-VAR.”
Cloud computing is dynamic and end customers want the ability to manage and amend their cloud services on demand. CloudPlus CEO Tony Francisco shares with Pod2112 how his company is giving more control over the cloud to its partners and customers and enabling more SMB and midmarket organizations to capture the benefit of cloud services.
A misconception of technology engineers is their products are so great, they should sell themselves. That rarely happens. Sales generate revenue, but marketing is the storytelling and packaging that generates sales opportunities. In this episode of Pod2112, marketing guru Jennifer Anaya, vice president of marketing at Ingram Micro and head of Agency Ingram Micro, joins me to share how the most successful companies deliver superior marketing that attracts, informs and retains customers.
A decade ago, managed services swept through the IT channel at precisely the right time to replace the profitability of commoditized hardware and expensive break/fix services. Today, managed services is crossing into the realm of cloud computing. No longer are resellers just monitoring and managing servers, they are facilitating and orchestrating cloud platforms, complex data migrations, hosted applications and security systems. The level of complexity is enormous, but so too is the market opportunity. Cloud computing is the next-generation of managed services. Justin Crotty, Senior Vice President Channel Sales and Marketing at NetEnrich, joins Pod2112 to discuss the evolution of managed services in the cloud computing era.
It seems as though we can’t start or finish a sentence in the channel nowadays without saying “cloud computing.” Just 10 years ago, cloud computing was a nascent concept that seemed somewhat fantastical. Today, cloud computing is the imperative. Vendors are looking to either migrate their offerings to a cloud-based service or transform their sales model to a cloud-like recurring revenue model. Ingram Micro Cloud's Renee Bergeron joins Pod2112 to talk about the evolution of cloud computing, cloud marketplaces and how IT vendors and solution providers can chart their cloud strategies.
Cloud services, Internet of Things, mobility and ubiquitous, data-generating applications are changing the technology consumption and vendor and channel business models. Pod2112’s Larry Walsh sits with Ixia’s Lori Cornmesser to discuss how network visibility and security helps partners and enterprises ensure networks deliver the performance needed in the next-generation, cloud-based era.