Changing Channels

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.

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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.