Changing Channels

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.