Channel Visionaries

It has been six months since I published a blog on channel disruption in 2016. Now data from industry analysts is confirming the disruptive changes taking place this year.

The gap between the traditional vendor and their channel partner is growing because the former is still pushing programs that favor legacy on-premise resale while the latter is moving faster towards driving business outcomes through the new cloud model. That is why 86% of solution providers, according to The Channel Company, are planning to add a new vendor or a new technology practice in 2016 i.e. their current vendors are not providing them with what the customers need.

Distributors like Ingram are launching new enablement programs to help partners evolve to the cloud model. New cloud vendors like Dropbox are planning, in turn, to leverage Ingram to gain access to the channel community and displace traditional vendors that are moving far too slowly. There is a complete mismatch between the annuity revenues of the cloud model and the project revenues favored by legacy vendors.

IDC predicts that spending on public cloud services will grow at 19.4% over the next four years and double from $70B in 2015 to over $141B in 2019. This growth is six times faster than overall IT growth which means that the remaining IT spending (excluding public cloud services) will be flat in the near future. And within this flat segment, on-premise resale continues to decline while other areas like professional services are growing.

Solution providers driving cloud-based services are already capturing higher revenues today and have double the cloud and managed services sales of their rivals who have not adopted a cloud model, another insight from the recent survey done by The Channel Company. Steven Burke wrote in his recent CRN editorial that “time is running out” for legacy vendors as they are still ignoring the partner journey – I completely agree with this sentiment!

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atm3P3XsAag)

The long lost art of mentoring. It is imperative that channel leaders embrace mentoring and those who do will benefit with from high performing, loyal, and unified channel teams. I recently spoke to Meaghan Sullivan, Vice President, Global SME & Partner Marketing at SAP, about the importance of mentoring. 

Meaghan is very passionate about mentoring and has built an impressive team around her of exceptional channel managers. Her team is responsible for SAP's Partner Lead Demand Management Infrastructure driving over $1.5B in marketing generated opportunities per year and Meaghan herself is ranked Top 100 Women in the Channel by CRN 2009 through 2015 as well as awarded #2 most influential sales leader in the channel by CRN. It is obvious after speaking with Meaghan that excellent mentoring from the top down has been a key driver in both her team’s and her own personal success.

Learn how you can effectively leverage mentoring and other vital skill sets to become an over achieving channel leader at our upcoming Channel Chief Conference at the Santa Clara Marriott on June 2 & 3.

For event information, latest agenda,and registration, please visit:

http://www.channelvisionaries.com/channel-chief-series/

HP, Inc has signed as Platinum sponsors for the upcoming Channel Visionaries Channel Chief conference on June 2/3 at the Santa Clara Marriott. 

“Channel Visionaries strikes the right balance between sharing industry trends, paving the path for future revenue growth, and providing real solutions that can be implemented right here, right now,” said Vincent Brissot, Head of HP’s Channel Marketing, Demand & Content Services.  At Channel Visionaries, industry experts don’t simply come to listen and learn. They come to share, which gives the event a whole different dimension.”

The technology industry has never moved at a faster pace and with rapid-cycling innovation which forces Channel Chiefs to adapt on the fly and focus on channel change management. Our community of global channel leaders give executives an opportunity to align their channel teams and benchmark their partner programs against the best in the industry.

Channel Leaders from Google, HP, Inc, Lenovo Software, SAP and VMware all leverage Channel Visionaries to gain a competitive advantage in the channel industry.

Early bird discount for the Channel Chief conference expires on May 2nd, register here:

Zift Solutions has acquired Marketing Advocate, resulting in a deeper team of channel marketing experts and expansive product portfolio to help you capture more channel revenue.  Marketing Advocate is the only other vendor besides Zift that was selected by Gartner as a “Cool Vendor” within the Channel Marketing Management industry.  This powerful new alliance delivers unmatched capability to drive channel sales.  The combined organization now includes:

  ●      More than 20 years of combined channel sales and marketing expertise

●      Enhanced Through Partner Marketing Automation (TPMA) technology and product functionality

●      Expanded abilities and resources to execute turn-key campaigns for suppliers and their channel partners

●      A larger global support team to optimize results

Click here to learn more about the acquisition.  You will find the full press release as well as some additional Frequently Asked Questions.

Relevant Quotes:

“As Marketing Advocate has been working with channel organizations for nearly 10 years supporting Through Partner Marketing campaign design and implementation, we strongly believe that combining the best of both solutions into one cohesive organization will provide customers with expanded product functionality and capabilities, as well as a larger global support team to meet key goals and drive more channel revenue.”  Ken Romley, President and CEO, Zift Solutions

“We’ve been tracking both companies (Marketing Advocate and Zift Solutions) for years now, and feel this space is maturing as leading b-to-b suppliers are placing an emphasis on becoming more “partner-led” in their marketing efforts, requiring technologies such as Zift Solutions to enable their partner’s limited marketing capabilities”.  Laz Gonzalez, Channel Services Director, SiriusDecisions

Best Regards,

David

David Buffaloe

VP of Marketing

[email protected]

919.595.5442 (o)

As more channel partner organizations shift from sales-centric to service-centric organizations,the wall between direct and channel sales will continue to crumble.  There has been significant movement in this trend in 2014 and it will continue to gain momentum in 2015. As these partners add value in new ways, direct salespeople perceive them more as a valuable resource rather than competition. Direct sales is under increasing pressure to collaborate directly in the territory with partners, not just pretending to collaborate and then taking credit for the wins that partners uncover. 

Customers are changing their buying habits quicker than sales teams can adjust to how they sell. Execution of channel sales integrated with direct sales is key to the success of channel programs these days. More and more digital platforms and automation tools will be the focus of channel leaders looking to successfully compete in the current channel landscape.

To learn more, join us at Channel Visionaries 2015 at the Fairmont Newport Beach on April 7 & 8. For more info about the event, please visit: 

bit.ly/1oYJF8F

Channel Visionaries is proudly sponsored by: Zift Solutions, Maven Channel Consulting, PartnerPath, StructuredWeb, purechannelapps, ZS Associates, The Spur Group, Channelinsight, Wells Fargo Capital Finance, and Successful Channels

As the organizer of the Channel Visionaries Summit, I get asked by Channel Chiefs all the time why they should attend content driven networking events with their peers. The answer is simple really. The channel is changing rapidly and channel leaders all over the industry are reinventing their strategies. Traditional channel models are no longer effective and the modern Channel Chief needs to adapt to a model that embraces new technologies including cloud, big data analytics, mobile, SaaS and social media. Digital platforms are being leveraged by savvy channel executives to gain competitive advantages and by attending events like the Channel Visionaries summit you will keep abreast of all the latest tools and technologies available to help you maximize results.

Most of our delegates leverage the Channel Visionaries Summit to enhance their own personal brand. By attending the event and sharing information, real life data, case studies and best practices with your peers from the industry and even your competitors, you will be perceived as a thought leader in the industry. Thought leadership leads to a following and you end up enjoying peripheral benefits you may not even dreamed possible.

For example, you'll find that you are able to recruit top talent into your channel organization much faster. The event is attended by 300 of the most savvy and influential channel executives in the technology and telecom industries. They are at the event because they are hungry for success and have a thirst for knowledge. Perfect candidates to bolster your channel team!

You may even be presented career advancement opportunities. I met Tarkan Maner at a similar style event in Barcelona focused on Brand Marketing back in 2002. At the time, Tarkan was a marketing executive for CA Technologies and was their VP of Brand Marketing. It was amazing to watch him work the room and network effortlessly with the delegates, speakers and sponsors at the event. He was extremely charming and very intelligent. Tarkan had thought provoking questions and challenged the speakers which in turn added value to the entire audience. The following year he was offered a speaking role which eventually led to keynoting opportunities. Tarkan moved on to become the CEO of Wyse Technology and successfully led them through a merger with Dell. At Dell Wyse, Tarkan stayed on as the VP and GM, Cloud Client Computing for a year until he accepted a post as Chairman and CEO at Nexenta.

I believe by Tarkan leveraging these events, he fast tracked his career to heights that few ever accomplish. Naturally, his high business acumen and intellect also played contributing factors to his success; however, that can only get you so far. For the same reason LeBron James left Cleveland to join the Miami Heat or a prize fighter chooses to get in the ring with the toughest and fiercest competitors... you can only improve yourself if you surround yourself with the best of the best! Jim Rohn said,— 'You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.' This event will allow you to connect with people that can help you elevate your career to new heights and you can help others do the same. 

For more information on how to attend the next Channel Visionaries event at the Fairmont Newport Beach on April 7 & 8, 2015 please visit: 

bit.ly/1oYJF8F

Channel Visionaries is proudly sponsored by: 

Channel Maven Consulting, The Spur Group, ZS Associates, Channelinsight, PartnerPath, purechannelapps, Zift Solutions, StructuredWeb, Wells Fargo Capital Finance, and Successful Channels