2023 has been an incredible year for Predatar, and in this special episode, we sit down with our Managing Director Rick Norgate to reflect on the remarkable milestones achieved in the past year and gain exclusive insights into the exciting roadmap ahead for 2024.

The demands of users for software that delivers measurable value while being easy to use, buy and consume is only going one way. It crucial to any platform business that they constantly invest, adapt and evolve to meet these growing demands.

In this podcast we hear from Nile Zahran (Predatar’s new Head of Innovation) on what businesses need to focus on to ensure they keep their platforms relevant and desirable to both current and future customers.

If you want to speak with Nile directly you can reach him at [email protected]

Over the last 18 months, a lot has been going on at IBM.

It has purchased Red Hat, plans to spin out its managed services business and promoted new leadership. A generational shift is underway to position itself as the leader in open hybrid cloud.

Are these decisions too bold or are they too little too late? Sit back and listen, then let us know what YOU think.

Al and Rick begin by discussing IBM’s decision to essentially split the business in two, with its Global Technology Services arm due to be spun out in 2021, this is then followed by their thoughts on the acquisition of Red Hat as the engine to return the business to revenue growth. Finally, what does this mean for IBM’s overall culture and the technology platform it is building?

Unhappy customers don't always fill in your NPS surveys, so how do you stop customers leaving your service?

We speak to Andy Brown, Predatar's Customer Success Officer, who sharpened his skills in the furnace of Britain's coal mining industry. Is keeping technology customers happy easier than hardened coal miners? Not always.

As SaaS models become the dominant delivery model for technology, Andy talks about the importance of the 2nd "S" - Service.

In this 30 minute episode, Andy shares his beliefs covering employee engagement, cultural style and how the customer service function must become as agile as software development.

Enjoy!

How can we help IT infrastructure operators, better serve the developer community in this world of agile, cloud-native workloads.

In this podcast I’m joined by Predatar Managing Director, Rick Norgate. 

We discuss the key features of the “Falcon” platform release (r11.3, March 26th), all designed to help you deliver dynamic, consumer-friendly, data protection services. 

Rick also shares his passion for usability and good design. He gives a glimpse into the 2020 Predatar road map and how we are helping service providers, well.... better serve their customers remotely.

Are you 100% confident your backup service will deliver when called upon? And when you need to recover a system, do you really know how long it will take?

In this podcast I’m joined by Predatar CTO, Steve Miller and for his first podcast, Predatar Managing Director, Rick Norgate. 

We discuss three new features in the “Orca” platform release (r11.2, December 19th), all designed to help you deliver dynamic, consumer-friendly, data protection services. 

Building on the recently awarded EPO Patent, we extend the DR recovery orchestration to support Spectrum Protect Plus backups.

We also discuss asset usage to help you keep a handle on costs and billing. 

Finally, for Spectrum Protect users and builders, we've added features to help you make the transition to Spectrum Protect Plus, just a little bit easier. Have a listen to find out how.

Keep the feedback coming. This is your platform built on your ideas.

“It’s hard, it’s expensive and it takes a lot of time”

Alistair Mackenzie talks with Rob Anderson, CEO of Pinnacle Business Systems, based in Oklahoma, USA. 

Rob’s story of constant business evolution is reminiscent of the struggles of the Joad family, the collective protagonist of the great Steinbeck novel, The Grapes of Wrath. In a reversal of the Okie migration after the Dust Bowl depression, Rob describes his journey from California to Oklahoma to build a business and transform it from successful IBM reseller to independent service provider. Having started on a three-year MSP evolution programme he is staying the course, because just like the book’s hero Tom Joad said, there can be no turning back.

With a strong background in accounting, Rob gives a different perspective on the changing landscape of the IT channel and what he feels is needed to be successful.

Capturing the spirit of the Oklahoma pioneers, the early farmers of the “Sooner State”, Rob understands the maxim “you reap what you sow”. Listen to the podcast to hear Rob tell a story of managing risk and taking tough decisions. Despite the toughness, Rob actively manages and nurtures the business culture. He realises a business is like a family working together to ride out the times of drought, and celebrate the bountiful harvests.

Patience is a virtue in the Sooner State.

"Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team"

In this episode I'm joined by Silverstring CFO, Graeme Titchener, who is on a mission to promote the "quiet men" of the IT channel. As more revenue switches to subscription services, the role of the "kings of cash" is changing from back-office guardians to key players in the creation of competitive advantage.

Having steered Silverstring's transformation from VAR to MSP, Graeme reflects on learnings from a career which began selling "chips and boards" in high volume, through to VAR, then MSP and more recently, SaaS provider. He reflects on a transition from growth through boiler-room sales tactics to growth driven by good customer service and proven outcomes.

Often candid in his speech, Graeme advocates Finance Directors take a much more proactive and visible role in the business-model change. Stepping out from the back-office to influence product development, pricing, marketing and even culture creation will be necessary for successful transformation.

Whilst cash is still king, strong risk and liquidity management is essential to realise the vision of often overambitious chief executives. He goes on to detail the tooling and systems required to cope with subscription-based models and the financial pressures associated with balancing short-term cash requirements, with longer term equity value.

Finance is an absolute bedrock to IT channel evolution so this episode of the Predatar Podcast is long overdue. Not just for CFO ears, we recommend any channel executive takes the time to listen to Graeme's insights.

Enjoy!

In this episode Al Mackenzie, Predatar CEO, is joined by Barbara Giunchi Burr of Silverstring and Mark Sampson of Beliyf. 

We discuss the invisible force which drives your business transformation. Whether you like it or not every business has one and its culture, when product advantage is short-lived, which can so often be the key differentiation.

It's so much more than a fancy two-day offsite workshop or motivational posters on your walls. Developing a culture which can propel the business forward, takes careful design and long-term commitment. It's what you do when you get back to the office after the rah-rah workshop; how you behave when you are faced with the mundane challenges of business life.

Where do you start? It starts with you, the CEO, as role model and cheerleader.

This is such an important topic, so powerful its been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. Yet why do we not give it the attention it deserves. Take time out and listen to this important episode on culture and business transformation.

How do you build long term competitive advantage when products and features can be so easily copied?

This episode looks at how to position your company for long-term success. As value-add resellers in the channel evolve to become cloud service providers, they can no longer stand on the shoulders of IT giants. Brand building and marketing become part of the strategy to be considered by any channel CEO.

The products you build become the torch bearers for your brand, helping you to avoid margin erosion from commoditisation and copycat resellers.

In this era, the service you provide is a reflection of your brand and culture. It's what makes you distinctive and unique. 

Whether you are first to market or late to market, you must take control of your position in a market segment by having a point of view, or a belief about what's right and wrong. If you don't, someone else, your prospects or competitors, will position your business for you.

In this episode Al Mackenzie, the CEO of Predatar, is joined by Mark Sampson of Beliyf to discuss branding and positioning for IT Channel companies.