The Software Channel Partner Podcast

Mercer Rowe -- Vice President, Global Channels and Alliances at Commvault -- has his own take on the dramatic shifts in the channel landscape over the past few years. And he outlines how he uses his "Three Ps" to drive partner success in this environment 

People spend more time on social media than any other online activity. B2B social media consultant talks about how software vendors and partners can use this channel to drive business results. 

Hear how at OutSystems Regional VP of Channel Sales Rob Spee is creating a modern channel program that can pivot and adapt quickly to ever-changing market conditions. 

The podcast's most downloaded (aka most popular) guest, Forrester's Jay McBain, is back with his top 10 trends for the rapidly changing software channel. 

After more than 20 years at Microsoft, Joseph Landes is bringing his channel experience to grow four-year-old startup Nerdio, which is "99.9%" channel. He talks about the great value of being actively involved in the MSP community for building their business, and of Microsft CEO Satya Nadella's advice to be a learn-it-all rather than a know-it-all. 

SMBs are under increasing cyber attacks, and that creates the opportunity -- if not the requirement -- for managed service providers to supply them with top quality cybersecurity. Skout Cybersecurity's Chief Revenue Officer Mike Hanauer talks about how they are creating the tools and packages for MSPs to succeed in this challenging area of services. 

8x8 SVP Global Channel John DeLozier has seen the channel from every side, including being a successful partner and global channel leader. In this episode he talks about the once-in-a-generation opportunity provided by the move from on-prem to the cloud and UCaaS, and how he's leading the dramatic growth in the channel's contribution to revenue at 8x8. 

Sandra Glaser Cheek, VP of Global Partners and Alliances at Ciena, has long been interested in making a more personalized, bespoke program for each partner. In this episode she describes how, over the past couple years, she's done that at Ciena and the phenomenal results that it is starting to produce. 

Balaji Subramanian of ServiceMax says that gaining mindshare of channel partners isn't enough: you have to win their hearts and minds. In this episode he describes a whole range of ways to make a superior channel program that will drive results. 

At SaaSMAX, founder and CEO Dina Moskowitz talks about how they provide unique data insights to channel programs. Their Partner Optimizer database has over 120,000 partners in it. And they can help SaaS companies recruit the right partners as well as optimize their channel programs with other insights. 

Channel veteran Janet Schijns has been hearing that the channel is dead for years, but it always bounces back stronger than ever. In this episode she talks about how even cloud-based companies can take their partner program to the next level and succeed. 

Zoom's Gilbert Vendryes has a unique title on LinkedIn: Delivering Partner Happiness. In this episode he talks about how he creates competitive advantage for Zoom by creating a superior partner experience. Of course it was recorded in a Zoom Room! 

In the 25th episode of the Software Channel Partner Podcast, Cyxtera Technologies VP of Channel, Jean O'Neill, talks about how she manages 300+ partners to success with internal and external supports.

At Gigamon, roughly 95% of business is through the channel. Michelle Hodges, VP of Worldwide Channel & Alliances, describes how when she came onboard she cut out half of the partners to focus on the 50% that were most productive and could provide the most value. 

Wayne Monk, SVP for Global Alliances and Channel Sales at ASG Technologies, is growing their channel's contribution to revenue. And he's focused on recruiting just a few good partners who are committed to ASG's program to do it. The results are impressive, with the channel now contributing 5X as much to revenue as just a few years ago. In this episode he talks about his unique set of the 4 Cs, and how he's growing the program. 

In this episode, instead of talking to the head of a major channel program, we're talking to a partner to better understand what makes for a great program from the partner's point of view. Hear the good, the bad, and the ugly of what vendors are doing, and how they can work with channel partners better. 

Chris Lamborn, NetApp Head of Worldwide Partner Go-to-Market and Programs, recognizes that the channel is changing faster than ever. To attract and retain partners that drive about 75% of NetApp's revenue, he talks about how he is leading major changes to focus their program on delivering simplicity, consistency, and differentiation. 

For decades APC has manufactured and sold power and cooling hardware through the channel. Now it is enabling its offerings with Internet of Things software. Larry Hann talks about how this is totally changing how the channel sells and relates to customers, and the huge opportunity that it is creating for APC. 

Small and mid-sized companies are transitioning from on-prem to cloud accounting software. Sage Intacct SVP of Channels, Taylor Macdonald, explains how this cloud company is using the channel on top of their direct sales force to capitalize on this unique opportunity. 

Channel veteran Ian Moyse consults with many companies on strategy. In this episode he talks about how the Internet has disrupted many industries, including software. And he suggests that the same forces that have moved so much software into the cloud may be making the channel obsolete. 

When BigID decided to turn to the channel, they hired veteran Louise Cooke. In this episode she describes what goes into building and launching a global partner program from scratch. 

Commvault has traditionally been a channel-centric company, with over 90% of its revenue being indirect. But a year ago they created a new position and brought in channel veteran Carmen Sorice III to take their program to the next level. In this episode he talks about some of the many ways in which he's made the program even better for partners, and improved the partner experience. 

Microsoft has always been channel-centric, with the vast majority of its revenue generated by hundreds of thousands of channel partners. But when CEO Satya Nadella announced a Mobile First, Cloud First strategy five years ago it meant a major challenge for its partners. In this episode Alyssa Fitzpatrick, General Manager of Worldwide Partner Sales talks about how the Microsoft partner program is evolving and how they're helping partners succeed in the new tech landscape. 

You can't always make things perfect before launching your partner program. In fact, you never can. Lauren Duda, the Couchbase Senior Director of Worldwide Partner Marketing and Development, talks about how they are building, scaling, and improving their partner program in the midst of rapid growth of the channel. 

Chris Essex is the SVP for Global Sales at AppRiver. In this episode he discusses how AppRiver is scaling its partner program to thousands of partners with their Partner First approach, and how as a result the channel is contributing an ever larger share of AppRiver's revenue. 

Some companies look at what the largest players in their industry are doing and try to duplicate that, but Scott Mann describes how Scale Computing took advantage of its unique capabilities to create a channel program that is different and successful. 

Craig Donovan explains how Pax8 brings a new perspective to the software channel partner experience as a born in the cloud distributor 

Unless they're VC-funded, with limited resources and little brand recognition, the challenges for a SaaS startup are especially big. In this episode Michelle Ruyle explains how by sticking with a plan, they can achieve significant revenue from the channel in 18 months. 

Tony Rummans is the VP of Global Sales at BitTitan, and an experienced veteran of the software channel with previous experience at IBM, ProQuest and Kofax. In this episode Tony describes how BitTitan uses and supports software distributors to create a global reach. 

Christine Sanni is a channel manager for Intelisys, and much, much more. She counsels Intelisys partners on branding, sales, marketing, and business to help them provide impact for their customers, and grow. And then she goes on to her second job as the CEO of ConserveGeo, a specialized environmental company, and her partner role in a VC firm. 

Forrester's Principal Analyst for Channels, Partnerships and Alliances, Jay McBain, is our guest on the podcast this week. From the very beginning, when he says that the channel has changed more in the past 18 months than the previous 37 years, Jay is full of surprising and useful insights. Among the many topics that we covered are: What separates the best channel programs from the rest? The decline in the proportion of software sales through the channel that he thinks is coming The rising importance of marketplaces and the "shadow channel" Which of the 90 channel program competencies are most critical The place for low code/no code software And much, much more! We could have used much more time! Check it out. 

Ayesha Prakash is the Head of Worldwide Channels and Partnerships at Flashpoint. In just a couple years she has led the growth of indirect from less than 10% of their revenue to close to half. In this episode she describes some of the tactics and programs that have been most successful in driving that growth. 

Sheryl Wharff, the Americas Channel and Alliance Partner Marketing Leader for Micro Focus, talks about the new partner program and portal that they've launched, and how she drives programs to deliver measurable results. 

Israel has a terrific tech sector but a very, very small domestic market, so creating a global partner program is critical to the success of many companies. Eran Rosenblum of Gainsight explains how to do that. 

Marcus Cauchi has worked with many channel organizations and trained countless sales reps and executives. In this episode he describes some of the best channel sales practices. 

J.P. Dundas, the Director of North American Channel Sales at Fuze, talks about the importance of relationships with channel partners and creating something uncommon and memorable. 

In this inaugural episode of the Software Channel Partner podcast, Rob Rae, Vice President of Business Development at Datto, talks about how they created a global, 100% channel program