ChannelTalks by iasset.com

How to Win the Platform Race

"Platforms are the winners on Wall Street. How do you move from being a Channel Chief to a Platform (Ecosystem) Chief?” Jay McBain.

Buyer behaviour and expectations have evolved for today’s enterprise customers. As a result, channel leaders are under mounting pressure to adapt to this rapidly changing market by transitioning to a platform (ecosystem) model.
 
At its core, a platform approach brings together multiple players to collaboratively deliver value to the end customer. But this requires a different set of tools and processes that can recruit and support partners on an unprecedented scale.
 
We are beyond excited to have two industry greats on this episode of ChannelTalks - Sonicwall Global Channel Chief, Michelle Ragusa-McBain and Canalys Chief Analyst, Jay McBain. Hear as they share their invaluable observations and advice on how to successfully navigate this transition, in what is being hailed as 'the decade of the ecosystem.'

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

Michelle Ragusa-McBain - Global Channel Chief - SonicWall

Michelle Ragusa-McBain is a highly visible thought leader in the global technology channel and serves as Global Chief at SonicWall. Entrepreneur Magazine named her as one of the top 4 people to inspire women to pursue a career in Tech and was recognized by SMB Magazine as one of the 150 most influential people in the global IT Business Community. Michelle was recognized as 2021 Leader for Advancing Women in Technology by CompTIA and serves as Florida Leader for Alliance of Channel Women and sat on the board of CRN Women of the Channel.

Jay McBain - Chief Analyst - Channels, Partnerships & Ecosystems - Canalys

Jay McBain is a Chief Analyst at Canalys, leading channels research in North America, as well as being an integral part of the worldwide channels research and advisory team. Jay is one of the most visible and respected thought leaders in the global channel ecosystem. Prior to joining Canalys, Jay was a Principal Analyst at Forrester, covering channels and ecosystems. Jay has also held various executive roles with IBM, Lenovo and ChannelEyes over a 28-year career.

 

Winning Revenue and Sales Operations for IT Vendors

In this episode of ChannelTalks, we speak to Barry Schween - a pioneer in driving strategy, transformation and revenue acceleration within the tech industry. Our experts deep dive into the realm of revenue and sales operations, delivering examples of how revenue technology can make a positive impact on reducing organizational complexities and improving revenue performance for both vendors and their channel partners.

 

RevOps, SalesOps, RevTech and everything in between. This episode is a must-watch for every IT vendor wanting to become more profitable, efficient and channel-friendly. 

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER

Barry Schween is an accomplished senior business leader with experience spanning across channel strategy, planning, operations and more. He has a deep understanding of sales and operations strategies through the many positions he has held within leading tech companies, such as VMware, Cisco, Aruba Networks, [24]7.ai, Quantum, Splunk and PwC. 

 

A Year in Review: Our learnings and how to inform our strategy for 2024.

As we close off another big year for the tech industry, our experts weigh in and reflect upon the state of the channel and lessons learned from 2023. How can these lessons help inform vendors, distributors, resellers and MSPs as they plan for 2024? Where is the industry heading and what changes do tech providers need to make in order to future proof their business?

We speak to Canalys Channels Chief Analyst, Jay McBain and iasset's Scott Frew on a range of topics, including:

 

3:00 - The state of the channel and tech industry.

5:30 - With channel-led revenue on the rise, how can partners keep up with their growing installed base?

10:00 - The generational shift amongst decision makers and how that will influence things from an operational perspective.

12:00 - Understanding buyer behaviours and the growing importance of integrations.

16:00 - Canalys Channel Ecosystem explained.

20:10 - How to "democratise" the channel ecosystem with iasset's Channel Gateway API.

24:15 - The growing trend for Marketplaces and what that means for traditional MSPs.

26:15 - Channel margins, the new era of transparent, frictionless sales processes and changing B2B customer/buyer expectations and behaviour.

38:30 - Importance of maintaining up-to-date sales data and adopting the RevOps model.

41:45 - Customer lifetime value extension and creating customers for life.

49:00 - Channel Heads and their take on RevOps and SalesOps maturity within their business.

54:30 Reflections on 2023 predictions and forecasting what to expect in 2024.

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER----------------------------------------

Jay McBain is a Chief Analyst at Canalys, leading channels research in North America, as well as being an integral part of the worldwide channels research and advisory team. Jay is one of the most visible and respected thought leaders in the global channel ecosystem. Prior to Canalys, Jay was a Principal Analyst at Forrester, covering channels and ecosystems. During his tenure at Forrester, Jay developed his reputation as an industry thought leader and was named 2021 Channel Influencer of the Year by Channel Partners Magazine. Jay has also held various executive channel sales, marketing and strategy roles with IBM, Lenovo and ChannelEyes over a 28-year career.

 

How to Achieve Seamless Sales Processes - Part 2

In Part 2 of our interview with Wendi Sturgis, CEO of cleverbridge, our experts discuss how to tackle customer churn, especially during challenging times. They deep dive into the importance of automation within renewal and revenue processes and how implementation doesn’t need to be as complex as you might think. 

Some key points covered within this episode include:

- How to automate renewals 
- Overcoming internal barriers
- Leveraging feedback loops
- Why a straight renewal isn’t always the solution
- How to get an edge over your competitors
- How your business can achieve more, with less resources/investments
- Why now is the perfect time to become a change agent for your business

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER

Wendi Sturgis - CEO - cleverbridge

Wendi Sturgis has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cleverbridge, a customer success and process automation company since 2021. She has over twenty-five years of experience as a technology and marketing leader at some of the world’s largest tech companies. Prior to Cleverbridge, Ms. Sturgis was a founding executive at Yext (NYSE: Yext) where she worked from 2011 to 2019, serving in multiple roles, including SVP of Sales and Services, Chief Customer Officer, and most recently, CEO of Yext Europe. She has previously held executive positions at Oracle, Gartner, Right Media, and Yahoo!, where she was Vice President of Account Management for North America in charge of the North American Search business. She is currently an independent director for The Container Store and Sabre Corporation. She has served on multiple boards including Dailyworth.com, Kustomer (acquired by Facebook) Student Transportation of America (Nasdag: STA), Step Up Women’s Network, and Chair of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board. Ms. Sturgis currently serves as a trustee for the Georgia Tech Foundation.

 

How to Achieve Seamless Sales Processes

In this episode of ChannelTalks, we speak to cleverbridge CEO, Wendi Sturgis about the importance of quote-to-cash and renewal automation.   The first instalment of a two part series, our experts offer real-world examples and practical advice from the field on how to streamline and expedite your sales processes. They cover the entire customer lifecycle, from what to do once you land a new deal, right through to renewals and asset retirement.

• Who owns the renewal? 7:50
• Dealing with a global channel - US vs rest of the world 15:30
• How automated should renewals and expand motions be? 17:10
• Are we considering the customer experience? 19:10
• What should you do after you land a deal? 23:25
• How can the channel work better together? 25:40

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER

Wendi Sturgis, CEO - cleverbridge

 

Wendi Sturgis has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cleverbridge, a customer success and process automation company since 2021. She has over twenty-five years of experience as a technology and marketing leader at some of the world’s largest tech companies. Prior to Cleverbridge, Ms. Sturgis was a founding executive at Yext (NYSE: Yext) where she worked from 2011 to 2019, serving in multiple roles, including SVP of Sales and Services, Chief Customer Officer, and most recently, CEO of Yext Europe. She has previously held executive positions at Oracle, Gartner, Right Media, and Yahoo!, where she was Vice President of Account Management for North America in charge of the North American Search business. She is currently an independent director for The Container Store and Sabre Corporation. She has served on multiple boards including Dailyworth.com, Kustomer (acquired by Facebook) Student Transportation of America (Nasdag: STA), Step Up Women’s Network, and Chair of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board. Ms. Sturgis currently serves as a trustee for the Georgia Tech Foundation.

 

Blueprint to Effective Customer & Partner Success

Committing to longer term customer lifecycles that enable sustainable growth and profitability has never been more paramount. But in a channel environment, this is not always straightforward and requires a commitment to customer success from the vendor right through to partners.

Whilst many vendors are adapting their partner programs to include customer success enablement, there are still countless partners lacking the data, support and resources required for effective, scalable execution. This in turn has led to partners taking control and building their own customer success frameworks.

No matter which end of this spectrum your business sits, this ChannelTalks episode is guaranteed to provide countless, valuable take-aways, including:

• A blueprint to starting a partner success program.
• Globalisation considerations for your program.
• How data can be leveraged to help scale efficiently.
• Best practices amongst partners who are executing their own customer success.
• The difference between a traditional and proactive approach.
• Top indicators for success.

 

About our guest speaker:

Irit Eizips, Chief Customer Officer & CEO at CSM Practice, is a world-renowned expert in customer retention and upsell strategies. She has been nominated Top Customer Success strategists and influencer year after year since 2013 for her contributions in shaping CS methodologies.

 

Enabling MSPs to Survive and Thrive - Part 2

Profit margins are tighter than ever. So how can MSPs and VARs remain profitable and continue to grow revenue without the need for expensive investments? 

In this episode of ChannelTalks, we speak to Dan Tomaszewski, Kaseya’s Executive VP of the Channel. As a former CEO of an MSP, Dan understands your pain points. He shares proven strategies that have helped more than 7000 MSPs close more deals and go-to-market faster through his award-winning channel program.

In addition, iasset.com CEO Scott Frew explains how to do more with less. In particular, Scott deep dives into the importance of data, installed base selling and operational excellence, and the role each of these play in achieving long-term profitability within your business.

Enabling MSPs to Survive & Thrive - Part 1

Profit margins are tighter than ever. So how can MSPs and VARs remain profitable and continue to grow revenue without the need for expensive investments? 

In this episode of ChannelTalks, we speak to Dan Tomaszewski, Kaseya’s Executive VP of the Channel. As a former CEO of an MSP, Dan understands your pain points. He shares proven strategies that have helped more than 7000 MSPs close more deals and go-to-market faster through his award-winning channel program.

In addition, iasset.com CEO Scott Frew explains how to do more with less. In particular, Scott deep dives into the importance of data, installed base selling and operational excellence, and the role each of these play in achieving long-term profitability within your business.

Ecosystems vs Traditional Channels

In this episode of ChannelTalks, we are joined by Julian Lee - President of TechnoPlanet and Publisher of eChannelnews.

Our industry experts compare ecosystems to traditional channels. How are they different and why does it matter? Is it another passing “fad”?

Together, they discuss the potential benefits of an ecosystem approach and explore best practices and tools that will help channel businesses adapt to this model, particularly from a transactional, profitability and operational efficiency perspective.

Ecosystem Success - Part 2

In Part 2 of our interview with Chief Analyst, Jay McBain, we get his take on how Ecosystem Success should be the driving force behind the go-to-market strategy for every technology business today.