Channelnomics’ Larry Walsh responds to the perception that distribution is declining in value to vendors’ go-to-market equation and channel programs. A recent poll found that channel chiefs see distribution’s contribution to channels declining as the market shifts to service-based models and cloud delivery mechanisms. This perception is nothing new. The value that distribution brings to vendors’ go-to-market equation is always in question, as vendors are always on the lookout for ways to cut com...
Apr 27, 2021•11 min•Ep. 6
Joe Sykora joins Channelnomics’ Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to talk about strategies and tactics for instilling in partners the imperative of selling persistently and consistently. The IT channel is, by definition, a route to market for selling and delivering technology goods and services to end customers. Partners are the conduit through which products flow. They influence and direct customer brand consideration and product purchasing decisions. And partners play a major role in the cust...
Apr 13, 2021•23 min•Ep. 5
Mary Beth Walker joins Channelnomics’ Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how HP’s new Amplify program is leveraging data shared by partners to improve channel sales and productivity. As many say, data in the digital age is the fuel of business. By gathering, organizing, and analyzing data, businesses of all sizes – from large enterprises to small Main Street shops – are making more informed decisions and improving their operations and productivity. Although the technology industry has...
Mar 30, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Frank Rauch joins Channelnomics’ Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss best practices for gaining top-down support from corporate executive leadership for channel strategies and programs. Executives from the CEO to sales leadership at technology companies often talk about the value of their channel partners in their success equation. Many corporate executives say that they couldn’t achieve their goals without channel partners’ contributions. In reality, faith in the channel is elusive. A...
Mar 16, 2021•35 min•Ep. 3
In this episode of Channelnomics’ Changing Channels, Chad Cardenas of TSG joins host Larry Walsh to discuss his model for getting partners to put skin in the game with start-up technology companies through investments and channel commitments. The lore of Silicon Valley was written with venture capital money. The start-up engine that brought iconic brands such as Google, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike to critical success made scores of millionaires and billionaires. In the process of their d...
Mar 02, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Channel Chief Meaghan Sullivan of SAP joins host Larry Walsh to recount the marketing lessons learned during the pandemic and how those learnings will shape digital go-to-market strategies for years to come! COVID-19 changed everything in the way vendors and partners generate demand, curate sales, and cultivate productive customer relationships. At the beginning of the pandemic, SAP’s Meaghan Sullivan was among the first to wonder openly what would become of sales pipelines and partner productiv...
Feb 22, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1
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 P...
Jun 04, 2020•48 min•Ep. 4
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 understa...
May 15, 2020•26 min•Ep. 3
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 t...
Apr 24, 2020•29 min•Ep. 2
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...
Apr 18, 2020•28 min•Ep. 1
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 prov...
Apr 07, 2020•18 min•Ep. 23
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 ma...
Apr 01, 2020•26 min•Ep. 22
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 pro...
Mar 27, 2020•23 min•Ep. 21
SAP's Meaghan Sullivan joins POD2112 to share how the coronavirus outbreak could reshape marketing strategies in the long run.
Mar 10, 2020•19 min•Ep. 20
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 lit...
Feb 27, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 19
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...
Feb 15, 2020•28 min•Ep. 18
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 leadi...
Feb 04, 2020•22 min•Ep. 17
Channel chiefs change jobs all the time, but few get the opportunity to build a channel program from the ground up. Channel veteran Bill Lipsin 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.
Jan 21, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 16
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% o...
Jan 05, 2020•27 min•Ep. 15
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 pro...
Nov 15, 2019•25 min•Ep. 14
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 org...
Nov 02, 2019•27 min•Ep. 13
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 busines...
Oct 22, 2019•18 min•Ep. 12
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 he...
Sep 29, 2019•28 min•Ep. 11
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 stru...
Sep 13, 2019•27 min•Ep. 10
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, tho...
Sep 02, 2019•26 min•Ep. 9
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, wh...
Aug 12, 2019•40 min•Ep. 8
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 p...
Jul 29, 2019•37 min•Ep. 7
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 chann...
Jul 09, 2019•23 min•Ep. 6
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 fu...
Jun 26, 2019•30 min•Ep. 5
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 facili...
Jun 12, 2019•28 min•Ep. 4
