Podcast appearances and mentions of larry walsh

In this compelling episode, host Kevin Dean sits down with Larry Walsh, the CEO and Chief Analyst at Channelnomics, to navigate the complex waters of exponential change. With over 15 years of experience advising top organizations, Larry cuts through the hype to reveal the strategic and often uncomfortable truths behind today's biggest tech trends.This conversation goes far beyond buzzwords, exploring:The Great Convergence: Why the simultaneous rise of AI, robotics, quantum computing, and biotech is creating a disruption unlike anything we've seen before.The AI Hype Cycle: The reality that most AI investments are either massive bespoke projects or embedded features, and why the rush to reduce headcount could be a mistake.The Original Sin of Business: Why compensation plans, rather than strategy, are the root cause of an organization's inability to innovate and adapt.The Myth of the Silver Bullet: A deep dive into why AI and data won't solve all problems, and the myth of a "one-size-fits-all" roadmap for the future.Parallel Visions: How leaders must have the courage to invest in a future vision without sacrificing current success.This is an essential conversation for any business leader, entrepreneur, or channel professional seeking clarity and strategic guidance in a world of unprecedented disruption.

Vendors go to great lengths to create channel programs that enable and encourage partners to succeed in their mutual go-to-market activities. These programs define the rules and agreements under which vendors and partners operate. However, partners often have little direct influence over how these programs are crafted or managed. Vendors can either elevate partners to new heights or dash their hopes and aspirations. Channelnomics reviewed years of commentary from satisfaction surveys that gathered insights from thousands of partners on their experiences and perceptions of working with different vendors. We aggregated and compiled these comments, identifying the actions that delight and frustrate partners. In this special episode of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh explores the highs and lows of vendor engagements with partners – and what channel leaders can learn from them. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes of Changing Channels. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! • Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ • LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli • X (formerly Twitter): / channelnomics About Larry Walsh: • LinkedIn: / lmwalsh2112 • X (formerly Twitter): / lmwalsh_cn • Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-... Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

In this episode of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh speaks with Alessandro (Alex) Cattani, CEO of Esprinet Group, about the unique dynamics of working within the IT channel and distribution landscape across Europe. Unlike the United States, the European market is complex, shaped by distinct local economies, languages, and regulations across different countries. Cattani shares insights into how these regional distinctions require a highly localized approach, making distribution essential for navigating each country's specific business climate. The conversation explores the evolving state of distribution in Europe, highlighting the digital transformation reshaping distribution and the ongoing consolidation trend. As Cattani notes, while American distributors and global firms expand their footprint, smaller, regionally-focused distributors still play a critical role in servicing localized needs. This episode is an essential listen for anyone looking to understand the nuances of the European IT channel and how distribution strategies differ significantly from the American model. Tune in for expert insights on adapting to Europe's fragmented market and the critical role that nimble, localized distribution partners play in supporting vendors' success. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes of Changing Channels. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! • Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ • LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli • X (formerly Twitter):   / channelnomics   About Larry Walsh: • LinkedIn:   / lmwalsh2112   • X (formerly Twitter):   / lmwalsh_cn   • Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-... About Alessandro Cattani • LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/acattani/ Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

In this episode of Changing Channels, Channelnomics's Larry Walsh speaks with Stephanie Chiras, Senior Vice President of Partner Ecosystem Success at Red Hat, to discuss the critical role collaboration plays in building and leveraging successful ecosystem channels. Chiras highlights how no single company can solve all customer challenges alone, emphasizing the need for multiple partners to work together to deliver comprehensive solutions. Red Hat, as a leader in open-source software, has embraced this collaborative approach by creating a flexible, modular partner framework that enables partners to engage more effectively with both Red Hat and each other. Throughout the conversation, Chiras explains how collaboration is essential for driving value through AI, hybrid cloud, and other emerging technologies, and how Red Hat is evolving its partner program to foster these collaborative motions.  Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes of Changing Channels. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! • Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ • LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli • X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/Channelnomics About Larry Walsh: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmwalsh2112/ • X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/lmwalsh_CN • Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-walsh/ About Stephanie Chiras • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanie-chiras-9022144/ Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

In this episode of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh speaks with Sal Sferlazza, the CEO and founder of NinjaOne, a leading managed services platform, to discuss the evolving landscape of Managed Services Providers (MSPs). They dive into how NinjaOne has emerged as a competitive alternative in the crowded MSP market by focusing on simplicity, scalability, and superior customer service. From the rise of MSPs to the challenges they face in today's complex and commoditized environment, this conversation covers how vendors like NinjaOne are helping MSPs consolidate their tech stacks, improve business outcomes, and grow their customer bases. Sferlazza also shares insights on future trends, including the role of AI and the ongoing transformation of the managed services industry. Tune in to hear about NinjaOne's journey, strategy, and the broader managed services ecosystem. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes of Changing Channels. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! • Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ • LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli • X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/Channelnomics About Larry Walsh: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmwalsh2112/ • X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/lmwalsh_CN • Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-walsh/ About Sal Sferlazza • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sal-sferlazza-64b916/ About NinjaOne: https://www.ninjaone.com/about-us/ Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

 Acknowledgement of Country//  Headlines// New Gaza death toll estimates | Local issues of freedom of speech on PalestineJohn Setka Resigns from CFMEU VicFirst-ever & 'indefinite' strikes at Samsung Electronics, South Korea Keep The Fire Burning - Blak Loud and Proud// Sounds, chants and speeches from Annual NAIDOC Vic March in Naarm Melbourne, held. Speakers include Robbie Thorpe, Thelma Austin, Jidah Clark and Larry Walsh. Thanks to Jordan from 3CR's Green Left Radio for the audio recordings. Protesting Trimson Partners' Unfair Eviction in Footscray// An interview from Slacker Radio crossing live to a protest organised by RAHU and BPU on the 22nd June, against the unfair eviction of member and Neurodiverse Blak man renting in Footscray. We also listen to soundbites from rally attendees, ahead of another demonstration this Friday 19th July, 9am-5pm 145-147 Geelong Rd Footscray VIC. AOD treatment services and harm reduction in Victoria// Inez from 3CR Breakfast interviews Dr James Petty (Senior Policy and Research Advisor, VAADA), discussing recent health alerts about illicit substances and adulteration with other substances, and their recently released paper on the need for developing a Potent Synthetic Opioids Plan, co-published with Harm Reduction Victoria (HRVic). HRVic also host free online Naloxone training on the first day of each month. Community picket against harms dealer Electromold in Thomastown// Mercedes Zanker provides coverage on the first community picket at the Electromold Factory in Thomastown on Uprise Radio, June 21st 2024. Check out Renegade Solidarity Audioforce, Darebin for Palestine, Whittlesea for Palestine, and Weapons out of Naarm on social media to find out more about their next community picket, at 6am Wednesday 24th July, at 202 Hold Pde Thomastown VIC.Music:Respira Palestina - Abe Dunovits (New Release)Ngarwu - DRMNGNOWHomeland - Tjaka

No one technology vendor has all the products and services that businesses need to operate efficiently and effectively. Even the best vendors with the broadest portfolios have limitations. They need to partner with complementary products and services to extend the value of their applications. This need is at the heart of what makes ecosystems valuable. Through ecosystems vendors and partners are able to combine products into systems. A significant part of this ecosystem is independent software vendors (ISVs), which make the applications that extend the functionality and value of the underlying technology products and platforms. The challenge vendors and partners face is identifying and forming relationships with the right ISVs. In this special episode of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh speaks with three industry experts – John Dusett of Ingram Micro, Alyssa Fitzpatrick of Elastic, and Alex Lewis of Genesys – about what it takes to create value-generating relationships with ISVs.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   About Larry Walsh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmwalsh2112/ X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/lmwalsh_CN Official Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-walsh/   About Our Guest John Dusett, Ingram Micro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndusett/ Alyssa Fitzpatrick, Elastic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alysfitz/ Alex Lewis, Genesys: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlewis/   Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC   Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.    © 2112 Enterprises LLC

The term "ecosystem" has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, steadily replacing "channels" to denote indirect sales processes. By definition, ecosystems is the collaboration between two or more companies to address a customer's needs. Nevertheless, there is a trend where the term "ecosystems" is also applied to describe channel populations and communities, leading to some confusion. This conflation of terms can set unrealistic expectations about what ecosystems are and what outcomes they can achieve.   In this episode of "Changing Channels," Channelnomics's Larry Walsh and Bryn Nettesheim address the nuances of the ecosystem definition and seek to clarify the current trend's implications. They explore the distinct characteristics of ecosystems and how these collaborative networks can be leveraged effectively in the technology sector. This discussion aims to demystify the concept and ensure a common understanding within the industry.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   About Larry Walsh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmwalsh2112/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lmwalsh_CN Official Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-walsh/   About Bryn Nettesheim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brynnettesheim/ Official Bio: https://channelnomics.com/staff/bryn-nettesheim/   Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Check out the bonus Killing IT content on MSP Radio's Business of Tech podcast! Today's a great day to subscribe to that: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/ -- -- --  Topic 1: The Current State of Mergers, Acquisition, and MSP Consolidation Mergers and Acquisitions are alive and well in the MSP channel. Jay McBain from Canalys predicts a growth of M&A of 50% in 2024. In addition to MSPs themselves, he says that we'll see some major vendors acquired as well. The promise of these larger organizations is always that they'll bring efficiency and profit. So far, that hasn't happened. But that's the promise. Karl thinks this is a GREAT marketing opportunity for MSPs. Related Links: https://greenwichgp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MA-Demand-for-Managed-Service-Providers-in-2024.pdf  https://www.channelfutures.com/mergers-acquisitions/msp-m-a-staying-hot-what-to-expect  -- -- --  Topic 2: The Practical Application for AI in Small Business Are we there yet? While AI is the most popular topic in technology, the question remains: what can we use AI for that will produce actual business value? Some industries have made great progress with AI, including manufacturing and medicine. According to a recent study, more than 93% of manufacturers (from start-ups to global giants) are already using AI in some form.  What are the implications and opportunities for MSPs and solution providers to sell their services to manufacturing clients? And what lessons can we learn to accelerate the adoption of AI in other industries? Related Link: https://research.aimultiple.com/manufacturing-ai/ -- -- -- Topic 3: How to best use predictions and analysis from guys like us. Summary of the Larry Walsh article linked below:  “IT spending growth projections should be taken with caution as they are directional and subject to change. While major analyst firms forecast healthy growth, the market is not uniformly strong, with several countries experiencing recession. Partner confidence is also dampened due to negative macroeconomic trends. Despite fluctuations in forecasts, investors, vendors, and partners rely on them for strategic planning. Channelnomics predicts conditions in the first half of 2024 to resemble 2023, with substantial improvement in the second half. Robust growth in IT spending is expected in 2025 and potentially 2026, driven by investments in artificial intelligence, data management services, and infrastructure refreshes.” Article by Larry Walsh, Channelnomics:  https://channelnomics.com/taking-it-spending-forecasts-with-grain-of-salt/  See also: "With a projected 6.8% surge in global IT investment in 2024, organizations are positioned at the brink of transformative growth. According to Gartner, worldwide IT spending it expected to total $5 trillion in 2024. This represents a 6.8 percent increase over 2023. And while this is an increase, it's down from the previous forecast of 8 percent." https://www.teamdynamix.com/strategic-it-spending-in-2024-navigating-growth-and-innovation/   :-)

In the latest episode of the podcast “Changing Channels,” host Larry Walsh spoke with Trevor Vickery, the vice president and general manager of Intel's global partners and support organization, about the concept of the "Siliconomy" – or the Silicon Economy – and how semiconductors are driving a new wave of innovation and opportunity. The Siliconomy, a term coined by Intel, refers to the ubiquity of semiconductors in our digitally connected world. As Vickery explained, the need for compute power is growing exponentially, with the market expected to reach a trillion dollars in the next few years. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for connected devices and the need to modernize cities to accommodate the growing urban population. Intel sees its role in the Siliconomy as not only a supplier of technology but also as a key player in diversifying the semiconductor supply chain. The company is investing in expanding its manufacturing capacity in the U.S., Asia-Pacific, and Europe to ensure a more resilient and diverse supply chain. The conversation also touched on the importance of partnerships in the Silicon Economy. Vickery emphasized that no one company can go at it alone and that partnerships are critical to building solutions that meet the needs of customers. He highlighted Intel's Partner Alliance program as a mechanism for scaling these partnerships and bringing together ISVs, GSIs, and other partners to co-engineer solutions. When asked about the potential for new types of partners to emerge in the Siliconomy, Vickery acknowledged that Intel may need to get closer to the end consumers of technology to understand their unique use cases and workloads. However, he also stressed the importance of scale and the need for open standards to ensure that solutions can be easily deployed and run anywhere. Looking ahead, Vickery outlined Intel's agenda for facilitating the vision of the Siliconomy. He emphasized the need to work more closely with partners to develop the ecosystem, co-engineer solutions, and innovate on both the technology and business model side. As the world becomes increasingly digitally connected, the Siliconomy is poised to drive significant growth and opportunity. With partnerships and innovation at the forefront, companies like Intel are working to ensure that the infrastructure and solutions are in place to support this growth and drive the next wave of technological advancement.

The tech industry is the generator of great wealth and a contributor to economic growth. The industry has provided trillions of dollars in opportunities to entrepreneurs and investors around the world, and it has offered a pathway to a better life for millions. The last two years haven't been kind to the tech industry. Many companies and their partners are struggling against strong economic headwinds resulting from the post-COVID recovery and geopolitical instability. While tech companies continue to generate profits, their operating costs are going up. The biggest impediments to performance and growth: Inflation, interest rates, automation, and general uncertainty. In 2023, the tech industry laid off more than 260,000 jobs, with many job losses going uncounted. The downsizing rate more than doubled compared to 2022, and the trend is continuing into 2024. We're at the beginning of the year, and tech companies across the industry are already planning more job cuts in their pursuit of “optimization” and “efficiency.” Some of the downsizing is justified to control costs and maintain profitability. However, the departments often first in line for cuts – marketing, operations, administration – tend to have the highest numbers of women and people of color, leading to these layoffs disproportionately affecting minorities. This is ironic since the tech industry has been a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. In this episode of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh is joined by David Lee, a software engineer turned corporate transformation advisor and DEI advocate, to discuss the layoff trend. Lee, who is also the author of “The Only One in the Room: The Unwritten Rules of Being Black in Tech,” shares his insights on the reasons behind the layoff trend and its impact on the tech industry's progress towards achieving its diversity objectives. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics About Larry Walsh:  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmwalsh2112/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/lmwalsh_CN • Official Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-walsh/ About David Lee • Official Website: https://www.iamdavidlee.com/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/identityjedi/ • Book on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/yzhpx2tp Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Paul Hunter, managing director of North America at HPE, joins Changing Channel's Larry Walsh to discuss the traditional data center hardware company's transition to the Everything-as-a-Service model and what it meant to its channel program. In recent years, vendors across the tech industry have wholeheartedly embraced the Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) model. This revolutionary approach involves selling technology in various forms through subscription and consumption-based models, which offer numerous benefits. The appeal of this model is undeniable: It generates recurring and predictable revenue while eliminating the uncertainties of sales cycles. While companies that were born in the cloud or have a service-based foundation find it relatively straightforward to adopt the XaaS model, traditional hardware vendors and some software publishers face significant challenges. These companies have long-established transactional sales practices deeply ingrained among partners and customers. Convincing sellers to shift their product positioning to a service-oriented approach and embrace new compensation plans is no easy task. Likewise, getting partners to adopt product sales that require presenting different value propositions and costs can be equally challenging. However, the lure of capturing recurring revenue is simply irresistible. As a result, many hardware vendors are undertaking the transition to XaaS sales models and channel programs, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated due to change management complexities. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) stands out as a prime example of a company that has strategically embraced the service-based model. HPE introduced its cloud-based GreenLake platform in 2017 and set a primary objective of generating the majority of its revenue through service and hybrid infrastructure sales. Over the past five years, HPE has continuously restructured its internal organization and external channel programs to align with the XaaS model. Its efforts are paying off, as the company is well on its way to achieving its revenue goals through service sales in the near future. HPE's accelerating transition to XaaS couldn't come at a better time. According to IDC, a considerable 71% of enterprises are shifting their workloads from public clouds to hybrid and on-premises infrastructure. This move is driven by the desire for enhanced administrative capabilities and cost control. Simultaneously, partners are identifying increasing opportunities to provide managed and professional services alongside XaaS and hybrid engagements. HPE recognizes these trends as significant drivers of growth. In this edition of Changing Channels, we bring you an insightful discussion between Paul Hunter, the managing director of North America for HPE, and Channelnomics Larry Walsh. They delve into the vast opportunities presented to vendors and partners by the XaaS model, highlighting the successes and setbacks that HPE has experienced during the transition process. Moreover, they provide invaluable insights into how businesses can capitalize on the flourishing XaaS and hybrid infrastructure markets.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   Changing Channels: A Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.    Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Paul Hunter: https://tinyurl.com/2utcv8pu   Channelnomics Podcasts Changing Channels: https://tinyurl.com/4xfvevbn The Network Effect: https://tinyurl.com/bdzzkwtb In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s   © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Eric Hembree, director of Internet of Things at Ingram Micro, joins Changing Channel's Larry Walsh to discuss the state of Extended Reality and IoT in the channel.  The reputation of Extended Reality (XR) technology is taking a hit as some consumer vendors are pulling back on their market development ambitions. But in the commercial segment, XR is just getting warmed up.  Ingram Micro, one of the world's largest technology distributors, partnered with Channelnomics to study the state of XR — an umbrella term that includes augmented and virtual reality — in the channel. The research found that, while only a minority of partners are selling and supporting these products, their business is robust and growing.  The same is true of IoT, which represents a $2 trillion opportunity and has been promised as the next wave of technology innovation and growth for the past decade. Despite all of its promises, IoT remains a relatively small presence in the channel compared to more conventional technologies. Yet research developed by Channelnomics and Ingram Micro found that resellers and integrators focusing on IoT are doing well and growing rapidly.  In this special podcast, Eric Hembree, director of IoT at Ingram Micro, joins Changing Channel's Larry Walsh to review the research conducted by Ingram Micro and Channelnomics, identify the current and emerging opportunities in XR and IoT, and discuss what it takes for vendors and resellers to leverage the channel to get these technologies to market.  Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics Changing Channels: A Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Eric Hembree: https://tinyurl.com/26w9rwbu Download Reports: https://tinyurl.com/4thvfuv4 Channelnomics Podcasts Changing Channels: https://tinyurl.com/4xfvevbn The Network Effect: https://tinyurl.com/bdzzkwtb In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Economic uncertainty remains high, even as the general indicators start to point away from a recession disrupting the market in 2023. Channelnomics is adding to this more optimistic outlook with the recently released annual Channel Forecast report, which found that technology vendors believe indirect sales will increase this year.  The prospect of a good sales and revenue year is somewhat surprising amid the continuing string of technology company layoffs and mixed sales results by product category. The technology market is in flux and adjusting to the contemporary realities of the post-pandemic world. As supply chains ease and companies return to “normal” operating postures, their technology needs change accordingly.  In this special edition of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh is joined by his Channelnomics colleagues Chris Gonsalves, chief research officer, and TC Doyle, vice president of strategic content, to discuss the channel performance trends and expectations that channel professionals can expect in 2023.  Reference Materials 2023 Channelnomics Channel Forecast: https://tinyurl.com/yn9m2wr8 Channelnomics Recession Survival Guide: https://tinyurl.com/5n6928pn Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  Our Guests Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Chris Gonsalves: https://tinyurl.com/23s4m4m4 TC Doyle: https://tinyurl.com/2kt6ajyf Channelnomics Podcasts: Changing Channels: https://tinyurl.com/4xfvevbn The Network Effect: https://tinyurl.com/bdzzkwtb In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s © 2112 Enterprises LLC

03-06-2023 Larry Walsh Learn more about the interview and get additional links here: https://thedailyblaze.com/larry-walsh-discusses-his-cycling-adventures-and-journey-to-self-publishing-two-memoirs/ Subscribe to the best of our content here: https://priceofbusiness.substack.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCywgbHv7dpiBG2Qswr_ceEQ

David Rogers, senior vice president of alliances and global channel sales at Netskope, talks to Larry Walsh about the security risks of the expanding world of ecosystems. “Ecosystems” is a buzzword that everyone is talking about these days. In these collaborative networks of technology and value providers, vendors, distributors, resellers, service providers, and integrators work together to combine various applications and resources, resulting in a value that's greater than the sum of their parts. These ecosystems aren't limited to the technology industry or the IT channel. Every industry is adopting ecosystems to maximize their products' potential and enhance their value propositions to customers. The trend toward ecosystems is estimated to transform the economy, creating trillions of dollars in opportunities and outputs. While enhancing value through ecosystems is a great idea, it also poses a problem — security. When an application connects with another, particularly one produced by a different company, it creates a potential security vulnerability. APIs and SDKs are often the root cause of many potential exploits that lead to data breaches and compromises. Although the security of ecosystems is in its early stages, it's growing in importance. As more businesses adopt ecosystems as a means of building systems and consuming technology, they also will take on the risk of security vulnerabilities that come with integrated resources. Netskope, a provider of security risk management solutions, is tackling the challenge of ecosystem security with new tools that enable vendors, partners, and customers to ensure security from the outset of use and monitor systems for vulnerabilities. David Rogers, senior vice president of alliances and global channel sales at Netskope, will join Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss the ecosystem trend, the associated security issues, and the steps that vendors can take to ensure the integrity of their value networks.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest David Rogers: https://tinyurl.com/cvdpcwa8   Channelnomics Podcasts: Changing Channels: https://tinyurl.com/4xfvevbn The Network Effect: https://tinyurl.com/bdzzkwtb In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s   © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Ross Brown, senior vice president of North America Cloud Ecosystem Partners at Oracle, talks to Larry Walsh about what it means to make money in cloud computing. The cloud is now mainstream. Vendors and partners make more money on cloud and other automated services sold through subscriptions than they do through traditional hardware and software products. A large part of cloud computing's appeal is the recurring revenue — steady, predictable income with a consistent expense correlation. Unlike fluctuating, seasonal sales cycles, recurring revenue brings certainty.  Recurring revenue sounds simple in explaining the cloud computing model, but accounting for cloud revenue is much different and more difficult. Cloud computing is sold on extended contracts with pricing consideration based on consumption expectations over the lifetime of the engagement. Bookings don't equal revenue. Revenue isn't immediately recognized. There are revenue and costs associated with interconnected services. And customers can use “credits” to retire their purchasing commitments, but vendors must pay partners for those sales.  Pricing and accounting in cloud computing are complicated and confusing. Planning for growth, calculating profitability, measuring performance, and defining value to partners and customers are all a matter of how a vendor interprets GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and calculates cloud numbers.  Given the pervasiveness of cloud computing in the channel, Changing Channels asked a true expert in cloud services and business models — as well as the channel — to talk about cloud pricing, revenue recognition, and accounting practices. Ross Brown, senior vice president of North America Cloud Ecosystem Partners at Oracle, has one of the most in-depth understandings of cloud economics relative to vendor sales and partner engagement models. The insights Brown shares provide a next-level reveal of what it means to make money in cloud computing.  Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Ross Brown: https://tinyurl.com/4r5ej67s In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Karl Soderlund, senior vice president of North America ecosystems at Palo Alto Networks, joins Larry Walsh to talk about what it takes for channel leadership and teams to continuously challenge themselves to look for improvements and better ways of doing things. Technology is a driving force behind the transformation of the way businesses operate. One important aspect of this transformation is the channel, which vendors use to get their products to market through partners. Staying ahead of the competition and meeting customers' evolving expectations require channel managers and teams to constantly seek ways to improve their strategies and operations. Getting teams to pursue continuous improvement isn't always easy. Some channel teams may become complacent, content with mediocre performance as long as it meets their basic needs. Others may adopt “best practices” and conform to standard structures and performance levels rather than trying new approaches. Some channel teams may avoid change due to perceived obstacles or cultural resistance to new ideas. Implementing change is always a challenge. Questioning the status quo is even harder. It takes vision, planning, analytical skills, talented individuals, valuable insights, strong leadership, and, above all, courage. Companies that are willing to commit to continuous improvement, even when they're already achieving notable success, tend to stay ahead of the competition and are better equipped to weather market shifts. One such company that has consistently demonstrated a commitment to challenging the status quo, identifying and solving problems, and innovating its channel programs is Palo Alto Networks. With one of the most effective and well-structured channel programs in the industry, the vendor may seem to have little room for improvement, yet its channel leadership and management team are always seeking ways to enhance their programs, processes, and partner relationships. Karl Soderlund, senior vice president of North America ecosystems at Palo Alto Networks, is an instrumental figure in the company's culture of continuous improvement and challenging the status quo. In this episode of Changing Channels, Soderlund discusses with host Larry Walsh the importance of not settling for mediocrity and not being afraid of change when it comes to channel strategies and programs.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.    Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Karl Soderlund: https://tinyurl.com/3kv5brbd In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s   © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Cheryl Cook, senior vice president of global channel marketing at Dell Technologies, joins Larry Walsh to talk about the state of channel marketing, how marketing to and through the channel is evolving, and how to craft market-leading channel marketing programs. Successful channels require a combination of good products with demonstrable value propositions, training and enablement to transfer skills required to sell and support the offerings, and marketing resources and support to drive the demand that leads to revenue and profitability. Every vendor has channel marketing resources and functions that support partners' go-to-market activities and keep partners engaged and informed about a vendor's value propositions, programs and activities, and opportunities in the market. The effectiveness of channel marketing varies by vendor. Some vendors do a relatively good job of channel marketing, while others are merely scratching the surface. And all vendors are challenged to keep up with the latest techniques and tools for communicating their messages to and through partners. Productive and effective channel marketing requires a combination of well-defined objectives, clear messages, systems and tools for conveying messages, and resources and support for guiding partners' marketing efforts. The challenge is persistent as channel marketing must continuously evolve with changing market conditions. In conversations with partners worldwide, one company keeps coming up as a good example of a vendor doing channel marketing right: Dell Technologies. For this episode of Changing Channels, we went right to the source to find out what makes Dell's approach different from others. Cheryl Cook, senior vice president of global channel marketing at Dell, joins Changing Channels to talk about the current and evolving state of channel marketing and how to put together an effective channel marketing program. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.    Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Cheryl Cool: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylscook/ In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s   © 2112 Enterprises LLC

Dan Tomaszewski, executive vice president of channels at Kaseya, joins Larry Walsh to talk about what it takes to enable managed service providers for success and how to get partners to put skin in the game on joint efforts that result in growth.   Managed services providers (MSPs) are the most sought-after partners in the channel. Built on recurring revenue models and service delivery, MSPs have the attributes that vendors adopting and developing subscription-based sales models seek in their go-to-market channels. The conventional wisdom: MSPs get what vendors want and need, so partnerships should be simple, fast, and productive.    MSPs know the service and recurring revenue model, but generating a return on investment for vendors isn't automatic. MSPs vary in their capabilities, capacities, and productivity. They require support in training, business development, technology adoption, and sales.     Many vendors that support or sell through MSPs offer training and other development resources. Most MSP partner programs follow traditional approaches in this regard, offering these enablement resources for free or having partners earn them based on performance. The result is a mixed bag.    Kaseya approaches MSP development differently in that it offers paid engagement. MSPs buy into a program that gets them access to resources and support — often through veteran MSP practitioners — to aid technology adoption, service development, marketing activities, and sales. The result is telling; MSPs that participate typically show better and more consistent growth.   Dan Tomaszewski, executive vice president of channels at Kaseya, joins Changning Channels to discuss Kaseya's MSP enablement approach and why getting partners to put skin in the game is a good way to drive better results in managed services.  

Eric Buck, director of commercial partners and global distribution at Google Cloud, joins Larry Walsh to talk about the role two-tier distribution models and distributors play in aiding cloud service providers in engaging channels and supporting partners.   Technology is increasingly being delivered via the cloud and sold through subscription payment models. End customers — from SMBs to enterprises — appreciate the ability to acquire and utilize computing resources hosted in public cloud infrastructure and available from virtually anywhere.   The digitalization of computing infrastructure and resources has many channel pros questioning the necessity of selling cloud services through traditional two-tier distribution models. Without physical products that require warehousing and logistics support for fulfillment, cloud services seemingly negate the need for working with distributors to reach the channel and end customers.   Yet cloud service providers and cloud-based technology companies have discovered that bypassing distribution isn't necessarily the wisest choice. Distribution continues to play a vital role in helping vendors reach and influence partners, provide access to sales and technical support services, and enable transactions. From the perspective of partners, distribution is an aggregation point for different cloud resources, and distributors provide direction on what services to sell and how to make them work together.   Changing Channels asked Eric Buck, the director of commercial partners and global distribution at Google Cloud, to explain why even the hyperscale cloud service providers such as Google are working with distributors, the value and support they receive from distribution, and how vendors can measure the efficacy and return on investment they get by engaging a two-tier model.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe!  Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics      Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production  Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.       Episode Resources  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Guest Eric Buck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-buck-6213211/  In the Margins: https://tinyurl.com/2sun9z5s 

In this episode of the Bike Tour Adventures podcast, I'm talking with Larry Walsh, an American from not too far south of the Canadian border. Larry's cycling journey is not entirely uncommon. Major life changes later in life, led him to start cycling. Next thing you know, he was embarking on some amazing cycling journeys across the United States. In the aftermath of these amazing adventures, Larry decided to write a travelogue-slash-memoire to chronicle his adventures. BTA's Newest Supporters: Charlotte PlouvierTo support the Bike Tour Adventures podcast, follow the links below: https://www.patreon.com/biketouradventures (https://www.patreon.com/biketouradventures) or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/biketouradventures (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/biketouradventures)  Join the RideWithGPS https://ridewithgps.com/auto_approve/Club/7729/Bjadk308nKFOqgHA (Bikepack Adventures Club) Find them at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larrywalsh1/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarryWalshC2CCycling YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmcADQ5Nmx2wMN8BHCT0nfw Website: https://larry-walsh.com/ Find me at… WEBSITE: http://www.biketouradventures.com/ (http://www.biketouradventures.com)  YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQl_pNcMZA-hHckhVrpmaw (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQl_pNcMZA-hHckhVrpmaw)  FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/biketouradventures/ (https://www.facebook.com/biketouradventures/)  INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bike_tour_adventures/ (https://www.instagram.com/bike_tour_adventures/)  TWITTER: https://twitter.com/BikeTourAdv (https://twitter.com/BikeTourAdv)  ITUNES: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bike-tour-adventures/id1464406852 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bike-tour-adventures/id1464406852)  Show Sponsors The Bike Tour Adventures podcast is incredibly lucky to have some amazing corporate sponsors. Check these great companies out and feel free to use my PROMO codes. https://redshiftsports.com/ (Redshift Sports) - Discount code: BTA15https://restrap.com/ (Restrap) - Discount code: BTAPOD10http://www.chirubikes.com/ (Chiru Endurance Bikes)https://7mesh.com/ (7Mesh Clothing)https://www.brocktoncyclery.com/ (Brockton Cyclery)https://www.racedayfuel.ca/ (Raceday Fuel)  - Discount code: CHRISP10

Today meet Scott Greene, Representative candidate for District 86. He's mustered the strength to challenge Democratic incumbent Larry Walsh and bring some trucker sense to the Capital.  Knowing that faith, family, and freedom are on the line, he will try his best to represent his district. Greene wants to empower everyone by removing liberal policies that threaten life and livelihood. Cheap energy, strong infrastructure, security, and the importance of the family are of highest concern. Walsh, on the other hand, has openly supported government overreach, mandatory sex-ed in kindergarten, and wretched economic policies that do not benefit or represent the people. Vote and support Greene, the Christian, conservative, and down-to-earth candidate! Find him at https://www.scottgreeneforil.com/.

Todd Palmer, senior vice president of global partner sales at Tanium, joins Larry Walsh to talk about the mythical “right partners” that vendors always seek to sell their products and why it's important to set the right expectations when developing go-to-market partnerships.  Vendors often say that they want to work with the right partners — resellers and solution providers with the ability and willingness to sell their products, support their customers, and, most of all, book consistent sales and beat revenue expectations.   “The right partners” are the white whales of the channel — a bit of a myth, if not misnamed. A partner's appropriateness for a vendor's go-to-market needs and program depends on alignment of the right product, vendor brand and product marketability, and sales economics, and on the partner's alignment in capabilities, capacity, and willingness to invest resources.   That's a pretty tall order, which is probably why the average vendor generates about 95% of its indirect revenue through less than 5% of its partners. And that's also probably the reason why so many channel people say they want “the right” partners. In the survey for our 2022 Channel Chief Outlook, 83% of channel professionals said they're challenged in getting partners to meet their sales goals and revenue expectations.  It's an endless pursuit to identify, recruit, enable, and engage partners that will self-actualize in the market, hunt for net-new opportunities, and build books of business that accelerate revenue growth.  Channel veteran Todd Palmer, senior vice president of global partner sales at security vendor Tanium, joins Changing Channels to discuss ongoing efforts to find the right partners, how it's often an unrealistic pursuit, and how vendors should approach the issue of finding qualified and capable go-to-market partners.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe!  Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics      Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production  Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.       Episode Resources  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Guest Todd Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-palmer-310807/  More videos by Larry Walsh: https://tinyurl.com/mr25a4cy 

Lou Serlenga, chief revenue officer at Nile, joins Larry Walsh to talk about the launch of a new Network-as-a-Service company that's leveraging channel partnerships to take on the incumbents in the staid, commoditized networking segment. New technology companies spring onto the IT landscape all the time, but few launch into a well-established and commoditized segment that's dominated by a giant such as Cisco Systems. Yet that's what the folks at Nile are doing. Under the leadership of chairman John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco, and Pankaj Patel, former executive vice president and chief development officer at Cisco, Nile is looking to disrupt the networking segment with a pure as-a-service model that allows customers to pay only for the networking services they consume. It's not a new idea, but the Nile approach is much grander in scope and ambition than what others — including the established networking companies — have tried. Working entirely through channel partners, Nile launched with more than 50 resellers and integrators in its Nile Connect channel program, which is as unique as its product and business model. There are no tiers or certifications, just an ease of access that allows partners to build recurring revenue on Nile's services. The job of building and expanding Nile Connect belongs to Lou Serlenga, the company's chief revenue officer and a Cisco veteran. Serlenga is looking to develop a broad and vibrant channel program to disrupt his former company's long-held leadership position in the networking market by giving partners and customers an alternative to buying boxes. Serlenga joins Changing Channels to discuss the launch of Nile and its ambitious channel program.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics    Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Lou Serlenga: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louserlenga/ Larry Walsh on interest rates impacting the channel: https://youtu.be/Ta5QDNTANlg More videos by Larry Walsh: https://tinyurl.com/mr25a4cy

T.C. Doyle, vice president of strategic content at Channelnomics, joins Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss the challenges all vendors face in transitioning from transactional to recurring revenue models. Services sold through subscription or recurring contracts are fast becoming the dominant go-to-market model for all vendors. While cloud service providers are built on the recurring-revenue model, even hardware and component vendors are pivoting toward the predictable revenue model. Recurring revenue is attractive, but it's not easy to generate when a vendor has a legacy of transactional sales. Recurring revenue is — or should be — a replacement for transactional sales. In theory, transactional revenue should go down while recurring revenue increases, over time creating an “X” pattern on a graph. The challenge is that many vendors try to maintain, if not grow, their transactional sales while building a book of business on recurring revenue. This creates conflict as partners and customers are caught between making choices that often stymie the transition process. This is what Channelnomics calls the X-Chasm. Navigating the X-Chasm requires understanding the nature of the revenue transition process and how it influences partners and customers, making choices in channel strategy, and adjusting priorities for internal stakeholders responsible for managing legacy and future business units. In this episode of Changing Channels, industry veteran T.C. Doyle talks about his cover story in the premier issue of Channelnomics Quarterly that details the X-Chasm phenomenon and how channel chiefs can navigate the trap successfully. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics    Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest T.C. Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcdoyle/ Credits Production: Changing Channels is produced by Modern Podcasting. For virtual content capture and video-first podcasts, check out http://www.modpodstudio.com. Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Voice-Over: Denise Quan

I want you to picture yourself in a long hallway. On the walls, as far as you can see, there are pictures. Framed photographs of organizations entrenched in a public crisis. I'm curious, what companies come to mind? Hello everyone, welcome to episode 46 - as the Resilience Think Tank presents the Resilient Journey podcast! This week I'm joined by Larry Walsh, Vice Chairman of the Hawthorn Group a public affairs firm that has been helping organizations for over 30 years. More and more issues are playing out in the public arena – and dragging corporations into them.  A crisis can damage a company's reputation. Larry gives us some great insights including: That what CAN be known, WILL be known When you should respond to negative comments on social media That values are the foundation of a company's reputation Be sure to follow The Resilient Journey!  We sure do appreciate it! Learn more about the Resilience Think Tank here. Connect with The Hawthorn Group here. Want to learn more about Mark? Click here or on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Bensound for the music.

On the show today is Larry Walsh. Larry is the author of Suit to Saddle and Forty to Finish. Both of these books highlight Larry's epic adventures of cycling across the United States at age 56, and then racing across the US a few years later. In this interview he tells us about his journey of self discovery, and how these adventures came to be. Check out his website at larry-walsh.com. Welcome to our newest sponsor Hammerhead! Use code MURPHOLOGY at Hammerhead.io to get a free heart rate monitor with your Karoo 2. Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook and Instagram page for daily entertainment. www.larry-walsh.com www.murphologypodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/murphology www.adventurecycling.org

Tune into our latest episode with Larry Walsh, CEO & Chief Analyst at Channelnomics as he speaks with Tori Barlow, VP of Marketing at Allbound, about ways your channel can thrive during an economic downturn.

Maggie LePique speaks with Sinatra Archivist, Charlie Pignone about the re-release of Watertown, a 1970 concept album, newly mixed and remastered from the original Sessions tapes. Upon Watertown's release, fans and critics alike simply weren't prepared for such a radical stylistic departure from Sinatra. But the album has shown resilience: Despite the initial lukewarm response, in the decades since the album has had a re-evaluation and, in 2007, The Guardian declared Watertown “one of [Sinatra's] greatest masterpieces” and in 2015, The Observer noted that “it made some sense that Sinatra would attempt a story-driven concept album, considering he had helped pioneer the thematic concept LP in the 1950s. But on Watertown, Sinatra did something truly risky: he told an entire album-length story from the point of view of [a] character that is most definitely not Frank Sinatra.” Gaudio's essay explains that Sinatra, with a level of empathy only he could achieve, was “reaching down into a man's soul and feeling his pain and still finding hopeThe legacy of Frank Sinatra – one of the world's most enduring singers – includes a studio album no one anticipated: Watertown. Recorded in 1969 and released in 1970, the concept of Watertown unfolds as a personal tragedy about a working man with children whose wife suddenly leaves him. Sinatra's performance elicits sadness, defeat and forlornness. Ultimately, as Sinatra so wonderfully expresses, it's also a story about one man's resilience.On June 3, Frank Sinatra Enterprises and UMe present Watertown, newly mixed and remastered from the original Reprise session tapes resulting in superior sound quality. The original album sequence will be available on vinyl, while the CD and digital editions will feature eight bonus tracks, including alternate takes from the recording sessions, two radio ads and “Lady Day,” which was not part of the Watertown concept. Charles Pignone produced the updated edition from the new mixes created by longtime Sinatra engineer Larry Walsh – the team behind recent FSE/UMe releases Sings for Only the Lonely and Nice ‘N' Easy. Now appreciated as a masterpiece of drama and heartbreak, Watertown will also feature, in addition to a recreation of the original packaging, new liner notes, a track-by-track breakdown from songwriter and album producer Bob Gaudio, quotes from Sinatra, plus essays by Frankie Valli, co-writer Jake Holmes, among others who were involved in the original project. Source: http://www.sinatra.com/frank-sinatra-concept-album-watertown-newly-mixed-and-remastered-from-original-session-tapes-set-for-release-on-june-3/Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frank-sinatra-concept-album-watertown-newly-mixed-and-remastered-301519544.htmlThis episode is from an archive from the KPFK program Profiles adapted for podcast.Host Maggie LePique, a radio veteran since the 1980's at NPR in Kansas City Mo. She began her radio career in Los Angeles in the early 1990's and has worked for Pacifica station KPFK Radio in Los Angeles since 1994.Support the show

Justin Crotty, senior vice president of channels at Netenrich, joins Channelnomics Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how data and device telemetry is transforming managed service delivery and value propositions.  Managed services in the channel are nothing new. Partners started delivering them more than 20 years ago, augmenting and replacing their legacy break/fix support with remote monitoring and management.   Increasingly, vendors — particularly legacy hardware and software vendors — are discovering the power and value of service and subscription models. Vendors want the same predictable recurring revenue that partners have generated for years. Wall Street and private equity investors are rewarding vendors that make the transition from transactional sales to service-based subscriptions.  Services ranging from endpoint management to cloud administration are generating petabytes of data. Through the telemetry of the data broadcasted by devices and applications in the field, vendors and partners have a rich source of analytics to diagnose performance and security issues.   While managed services have always promised customers quick responses to performance issues and system failures, the reality is that services are reactionary. Something has to happen to trigger an alert so a vendor or partner can take action. That's changing, though, as data analytics become more available. Vendors are beginning to leverage telemetry to identify issues as early as possible so that they and their partners can take anticipatory action and prevent system failures for end users.  A vendor on the forefront of this trend is Netenrich, which is offering managed service providers a vendor-neutral capability to tap into the telemetry stream to identify and anticipate customer performance issues before they can cause more serious problems. Justin Crotty, senior vice president of channels at Netenrich, joins Changing Channels to discuss this growing trend of enabling partners to be more proactive.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe!  Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics      Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production  Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.       Episode Resources  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Guest Justin Crotty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justincrotty/  Credits  Production: Changing Channels is produced by Modern Podcasting. For virtual content capture and video-first podcasts, check out http://www.modpodstudio.com.  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Voice-Over: Denise Quan 

Larry Walsh, chief analyst at Channelnomics, discusses the performance challenges that channel chiefs face, explaining that they're rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of partner business models and ill-conceived presumptions about partner capabilities. Being a channel chief isn't easy. Channel leaders face numerous challenges, including getting partners to perform in a way that contributes to company goals and revenue-generation expectations. This underlying challenge is amplified by the struggles that come from transitioning channels to new service and subscription models. In the 2022 Channel Chief Outlook report, Channelnomics reveals that 85% of channel chiefs say they're challenged in getting partners to adopt new products, technologies, and services, while 83% say they're grappling with getting partners to meet or exceed their sales goals. And 71% struggle to get partners to adopt new go-to-market models — mostly based on services and subscriptions. What's the source of these challenges? Walsh posits two possible answers: myopic thinking and a fundamental misunderstanding of partner business models. Over the past two decades, resellers and integrators evolved their business models beyond transactional product sales and break/fix services. Partners make most of their money on managed and professional services. But vendors continue to think that they have to lead partners into the future of services and that partners are behind in their service capabilities. In this episode of Changing Channels, Larry Walsh, chief analyst at Channelnomics and host of the podcast, details what vendors get wrong about their partners' business models and capabilities and what they need to do to overcome the challenge of generating superior channel performance that contributes to their corporate goals. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.   Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa 2022 Channel Chief Outlook report: https://channelnomics.com/product/channel-chief-outlook-the-2022-report/ Channelnomics Quarterly: https://channelnomics.com/cq/

Ingram Micro Cloud's John Dusett joins Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss new cloud research — conducted by Channelnomics and supported by Ingram Micro Cloud, Microsoft, and Google Workspace — and how the customer experience is crucial when it comes to service renewals and expansions. The cloud computing market continues to grow at double-digit rates. Over the next decade, businesses will continue to migrate systems and mission-critical workloads into cloud environments. They'll adopt cloud-based applications to replace legacy client-side licenses, and they'll subscribe to managed services to support their cloud resources. To say that it's a good time for reselling and supporting cloud computing services is an understatement. According to our recent report — “Buying the Cloud: The As-a-Service Experience From the Customer Perspective” — 47% of SMB IT buyers, the prime target for the channel, plan to buy more cloud computing products in the next 12 to 18 months. End users are adopting infrastructure services, productivity software, business applications, and backup services. Moreover, they're expanding their cloud utilization to include customer support applications and Internet of Things infrastructure. Cloud computing provides solution providers with recurring revenue. Customers pay for services on monthly or annual schedules, providing resellers with predictable income. The recurring-revenue model works well as long as the customer keeps paying, renewing contracts, and expanding service utilization. As solution providers have learned through managed services, customers are more apt to expand their cloud capacity when they have positive experiences and recognize the value of their spending. Customer experience is becoming a significant factor in solution providers' cloud value proposition. While vendors are the source of cloud services, solution providers are the managers of cloud resources and customer experiences. If solution providers can facilitate a positive, seamless experience, customers are more apt to renew and expand their cloud contracts. According to the research conducted by Channelnomics and Ingram Micro Cloud, 38% of cloud buyers base their decision to renew contracts on their experience with a solution provider. In this episode of Changing Channels, John Dusett, Ingram Micro Cloud's executive director of cloud services for the United States, joins us to discuss the increasing importance of customer experience in cloud computing engagements and what solution providers need to do to impress and satisfy their clients. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest John Dusett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndusett/

TeamViewer's Patty Nagle and Rob Thiele join Changing Channel's Larry Walsh to discuss how they're revamping their channel program to accelerate the company's evolution into more use cases and market opportunities beyond their remote-access foundation. Many products start out as free, consumer-oriented offerings to capture market share for what's often a singular purpose or value proposition. Over time, they evolve into more business-ready, enterprise-centric solutions. The trick is building the sales capacity and coverage to make the leap from legacy to future. The channel is often that evolutionary catalyst. One company that's using the channel to make this leap forward is TeamViewer. Best known for products that enable remote access and control for endpoints, TeamViewer is expanding beyond its core into collaboration, workflow management, and augmented reality. While it maintains the freemium offerings that got it started, TeamViewer is increasingly looking to channel partners as a means of identifying new opportunities and servicing an expanding total addressable market. In this episode of Changing Channels, Patty Nagle, TeamViewer's North America president, and Robert Thiele, vice president of strategic alliances and partners for the Americas, join host Larry Walsh to discuss how they've reshaped their channel program to account for different types of partners, customers, and use cases to facilitate growth beyond the traditional core. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Patty Nagle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattynagle/ Guest Robert Thiele: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robthiele/

Larry Walsh, chief analyst at Channelnomics, provides an overview of how the Russian war on Ukraine is affecting global and regional economies, and how the conflict will impact the technology industry and channels. The Russian war on Ukraine isn't a regional conflict. While the fighting is happening across the plains and marshlands of the Ukrainian heartland, the war is having a cascading effect of human and economic disruption around the world. As Walsh explains, the war will cause significant disruptions in energy, food, and raw-material supplies. Western resolve to oppose the war through sanctions comes at a cost; experts say the economic penalties against Russia will reduce global economic growth by 1% to 2%. Ultimately, the consequences of the conflict and the Western response will likely push many countries into recession and instability. The Western world was in a fog of disbelief, thinking that such a large conflict was beyond the realm of possibility in the post-Cold War era. In our guidance, Channelnomics is preparing for the unthinkable, even if implausible. Technology companies need to develop contingency plans for potential disruptions still to come. In this special edition of Changing Channels, Channelnomics provides an overview of the war in Ukraine from the unique perspective of how it could continue to impact the technology industry and channel. Chief analyst and Changing Channels host Larry Walsh provides insights on the current extent of the conflict, how it's disrupting different industries, and how those disruptions will ripple through the general economy. For a promo code granting free access to one of our latest analyst notes, “Getting Comfortable Asking Uncomfortable Questions Regarding War,” be sure to listen to the entire podcast. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics    Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa

Larry Walsh talks to Hitachi Vantara Senior Vice President of Strategic Partners and Alliances Kim King on automating quoting for partners to ensure fast, easy access to accurate pricing with minimal human interaction. Buyer expectations have evolved. No longer are companies willing to wait for weeks for quotes on their IT projects. They want the same “Amazon Experience” in their business purchasing that they get in their consumer lives. In other words, they want quotes in days, if not hours. Quoting has been a longtime challenge for both vendors and distributors. Partners receive different discounts and incentives based on their status, sales performance and history, and competencies. Adding to the complexity is the impact of regional pricing differences, the varying needs of customers for different types of products, and the cost of distribution and fulfillment. Configure, price, and quote (CPQ) solutions go a long way toward automating many steps in the process. Through such systems, partners (in theory) gain access to product pricing and quoting based on customer specifications and fulfillment needs. CPQ works well, but to a point. These systems often lack the ability to take into account the nuances of incentives and other financial measures that influence partner buying. As a result, gaps remain that keep the quoting process running long. Storage vendor Hitachi Vantara decided to tackle this problem directly. Rather than adopting a CPQ system, the company formed a “tiger team” to develop a homegrown system based on Salesforce's CRM. The team set out with the goal of creating a platform capable of processing partner quote requests within hours – even for large enterprise deals. Moreover, the system would include all partner incentives, including deal registration and promotional discounts, in the quotes. The development took two years of work that included platform customization and the collection of volumes of pricing, discounting, promotional, and partner data. The effort, thus far, is paying off. The Hitachi Vantara partner quoting system is delivering enterprise-level quotes to partners, often in just hours. The tool, which gives partners a competitive advantage by turning around accurate prices with blazing speed, also gives partners more control over pricing, as they're able to add their own markups with greater ease and consistency. The Hitachi Vantara quoting system isn't perfect and remains a work in progress, but the company is demonstrating how vendors can create better quoting systems that improve partner experience and performance. In this edition of Channelnomics' Changing Channels, Kim King, senior vice president of strategic partners and alliances at Hitachi Vantara, joins host Larry Walsh to discuss how the company developed such a complex quoting system and extracted the benefits they sought.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics    Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Kim King: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-king-746463/  

Larry Walsh talks with Acronis CEO Patrick Pulvermueller about the impact the war in Ukraine is having on the technology market and channel, efforts made to help refugees, and how the Russian invasion is changing strategic and contingency planning. The war in Ukraine, now raging for more than a month, woke governments and companies around the world out of their complacency. The dystopian-like order of the Cold War returned with a vengeance, causing many technology industry leaders to rethink their operations and outlook in ways they couldn't conceive just weeks ago. To date, thousands of lives have been lost. Entire cities have been leveled. More than 3.7 million Ukrainians are refugees in other European countries. And as much as 15% of the population has been displaced by the fighting and destruction. The Western response has been multifaceted. Beyond the financial and military aid flowing into Ukraine, NATO and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia that aim to cripple its economy. Many Western companies – most notably, technology companies – have suspended operations in Russia and taken active roles in aiding the Ukrainian resistance. One of these companies is Acronis, a cybersecurity and backup specialist based in Switzerland and Singapore, with substantial connections to Russia and Ukraine through its diverse globalized staff. Acronis stopped doing business in Russia in 2017, and the company severed any remaining ties immediately following the invasion in solidarity with Western sanctions and in support of Ukraine's resistance. Acronis has taken additional steps as well. The company is actively working to provide displaced Ukrainians with employment; has pledged €500,000 through its charitable arm, Acronis Cyber Foundation; and is helping its employees in Eastern European countries that are providing aid and support to Ukrainian refugees. Acronis, like many of its peers, is dealing with issues that were unthinkable just a month ago. Beyond the humanitarian efforts, Acronis and companies like it are shifting their strategic thinking. They're not only thinking about their usual annual operating plans; they're also considering the short- and long-term ramifications of a sustained war in Ukraine and the widening of the conflict to more countries. They're coping with the continuing inflation and inventory issues, while adding sanctions and supply-chain disruptions to the list. They're rethinking everything. In this Channelnomics Changing Channels episode, Acronis CEO Patrick Pulvermueller joins host Larry Walsh to discuss the far-reaching repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how it will impact technology companies around the world. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics   Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Patrick Pulvermueller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickpulvermueller  

Larry Walsh talks to monday.com Senior Channel Partner Manager Sarit Chalamish about how vendors can step outside of their comfort zone and embrace creative business solutions to pave the way for unparalleled opportunities for growth and success across all levels of an organization.   As any channel professional knows, building a successful partner program is no simple task. Starting from scratch and finding the right partners to connect with takes a tremendous amount of concentrated relationship-building, typically accomplished through face-to-face meetings and the moments in between wining and dining. Especially for the leaders assigned to getting a new partner program off the ground, securing those first partners is a crucial step, as those early partners can be critical in determining the long-term success of the program.   Combine the inherent nature of developing a new partner program with the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the pandemic and the challenge seems not only difficult but downright impossible. Of course, collaboration, flexibility, and relationship-building took on new meaning with the onset of COVID-19. A firm handshake was replaced with a link to a virtual meeting as the world was forced into a dependency on computer and phone screens.  For those starting something fresh in the midst of the pandemic – whether a new job, a new kind of program, or even the general adjustment to remote work – the question was clear: Could virtual resources be enough to meet the demands of pre-pandemic life?  A channel leader who was quickly forced to answer this question is Sarit Chalamish, senior channel partner manager at monday.com. When she joined the company last spring, she faced a seemingly insurmountable task: to develop the organization's North America channel program as a new member of the monday.com team and amid the onset of a global pandemic. Quick and creative thinking quickly became the foundation for accomplishing this feat as Chalamish navigated unchartered territory.   Chalamish, like other channel leaders, knows the right partners can make or break the launch of a partner program. To ensure the success of monday.com's burgeoning partner program, Chalamish and her team embraced their creative sides, exploring more “out of the box” partner relationships like vertical partners or turning inward and leveraging their own networks. The process was difficult, but the goal was simple: to find partners with the same level of professionalism as monday.com – sharing that same culture of adaptability and creativity – so that clients can enjoy a seamless experience.   In this edition of Channelnomics' Changing Channels, Chalamish joins host Larry Walsh to discuss how adopting a mindset of “thinking outside the box” allowed monday.com to develop a partner program entirely through virtual resources. By embracing this same sense of creativity and flexibility, executives can open the door for exciting new projects and relationships across all levels of the channel.  Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe!  Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics      Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production  Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.       Episode Resources  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Guest: Sarit Chalamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarit-chalamish-28177/ 

Michelle Hodges, vice president of worldwide channels at GitLab, joins host Larry Walsh to discuss how channel executives can develop better relationships with board members while showcasing the benefits of the channel. Channel chiefs are often challenged in explaining and demonstrating the value of partner programs and relationships to decision-makers in their organizations. Having a seat at the management table means having a voice in strategy and decision-making. In business, there's no bigger table than the board of directors. Gaining the attention of the board in supporting the channel is becoming increasingly important to channel chiefs. Helping boards understand the value and importance of channel programs and partners can make all the difference when it comes to strategic priorities and funding for indirect routes to market.   The challenge is bridging the “language divide.” Channel executives and board members often fail to use the same lingo, rely on the same metrics, or even identify the same priorities. To help board members – extensions of the investors behind companies – better understand the value of the channel and what it brings to the table, channel and business managers need to make more of an effort to cultivate a relationship between themselves and the board. In that relationship, channel leaders should focus on using the same metrics, showing demonstrable results, and making it clear that their aim isn't to sell a product but to explain the channel's impact on a company's business. A channel leader at the forefront of cultivating these types of relationships is GitLab Vice President of Worldwide Channels Michelle Hodges. She's long been a fierce advocate of working closely with boards and encouraging others to do the same. Hodges, like other channel leaders, knows it can be difficult to make a material difference in the eyes of the board. That's why her game plan involves asking lots of questions and catering to the board's goals. She starts by asking her leadership team about the pressure they're under by the board and familiarizing herself with management-level metrics. Then she approaches the board, making sure to use the right language to ask about their objectives and explain how their goals align with the value of the channel – and how the channel can produce critical results in serving the business. In this edition of Channelnomics' Changing Channels, Hodges joins host Larry Walsh to discuss how cultivating a relationship with board members while zeroing in on the power of the channel can lead to unparalleled opportunities for growth and a more unified value set across an organization. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics    Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Michelle Hodges: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellewhodges/

Rob Rae, senior vice president of Datto, joins Channelnomics' Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss why vendors often struggle when building service channels and how to get the most out of MSP relationships.  As the shift away from transactional sales models and toward service- and consumption-based paradigms progresses, vendors are realizing that managed service providers may be the ideal target for building out their indirect sales.   That's because MSPs are entrenched in current revenue models, are used to selling to their customers, and already have a good installed base of customer and consumer services. But one problem remains – the mistaken presumption that MSPs will act in a way that aligns with what vendors know about their resellers and integrators.   Vendors are designing channel programs around how they want to work with the market, not necessarily how partners or MSPs are working with their customers. That creates a gap between what the vendors are trying to do and what they're actually doing.   One vendor with a keen awareness of what it takes to bridge that gap is Datto. The company has long been a key player in working with MSPs – championing them as bona fide partners and supporting them in getting their products to end users. Datto has developed MSP relationships that not only ensure its success in a changing industry but also allow it to work side by side with competitors and other service providers. The goal: to cultivate an integrative community that facilitates constant support for MSPs while stimulating the continued buildout of the consumption model.   By persistently networking, communicating, and building on its relationships with partners, Datto fosters a climate of collaboration to keep MSPs running smoothly and create a positive partner experience. Rob Rae, senior vice president of Datto, joins Channelnomics' Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how Datto is leveraging its years of experience to ground its partner program in the concept of community and help MSPs grow their businesses.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe!  Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics      Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production  Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.       Episode Resources  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Guest Rob Rae: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtrae/    Credits  Production: Changing Channels is produced by Modern Podcasting. For virtual content capture and video-first podcasts, check out http://www.modpodstudio.com.  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Voice-Over: Denise Quan 

In this podcast, we talk with Larry Walsh, associate director of Admissions at Salus University. He talks to us about the Speech-Language Pathology program and tips and tricks for applying. For more information about the Speech-Language Pathology program, you can visit salus.edu/SLPTo learn more about our podcast series, visit salus.edu/podcasts

Craig Crescas, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, and Mathew Batterbee, Global Head of Business Applications at Ingram Micro Cloud, join Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how partners can leverage the benefits of advanced cloud applications and help customers do the same.   As the digital transformation continues to barrel ahead, with no signs of slowing down, advanced cloud-based applications are increasingly imperative in helping organizations to automate processes, maintain accurate records, and facilitate better customer experiences.   The challenge many businesses face is setting up and operationalizing that cloud-based software. When customers don't have the expertise or resources to bring their cloud vision to life, their quest for digital transformation fails. That's why customers need partners with the skills and know-how to help them get the most out of their cloud investment.   It turns out that partners face the very same challenge as customers – a lack of experience and resources. Building practices that go beyond the deployment of simple, common cloud applications takes time, money, and, most important, the acceptance of risk. But the truth is that advanced cloud applications represent a big opportunity for solution providers given partners' under-penetration in that area and customers' need for support there. As the saying goes, where there's mystery, there's margin.   Vendors need to better prepare partners to offer more advanced cloud applications such as CRM and ERP. Doing so is a win-win. While customers get the help they need to address business challenges, partners get a chance to capitalize on this cloud market opportunity.  A vendor at the forefront of dispelling the mystery of how partners can break into advanced cloud services is Microsoft. With Microsoft Dynamics 365, the company has developed a set of advanced applications designed to help take organizations' digital transformation capabilities to the next level. More significantly, though, the company has built its own training program for Dynamics 365 to simplify the learning process for partners and grant them the skills and resources they need to get the most out of their investments.   As the technical environment transitions, Microsoft is guiding partners on how to embrace the benefits of Dynamics 365 and engage in a business-led, rather than tech-led, conversation with customers. The goal: more open discussions between partners and customers and an overall better experience for customers as partners gain the ability to understand their aims, challenges, and growth inhibitors.   Microsoft is a supporter of cloud research conducted by Channelnomics in partnership with Ingram Micro Cloud, which is why we've invited them here to share their thoughts on leveraging advanced cloud applications and taking advantage of the market opportunity they present. Craig Crescas, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, and Mathew Batterbee, Global Head of Business Applications at Ingram Micro Cloud, join Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how Microsoft helps partners and end users harness the power of advanced cloud applications.   Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe!  Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/   LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics      Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production  Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.       Episode Resources  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Guest Craig Crescas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcrescas/  Guest Mathew Batterbee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-batterbee-7580a8ba/    Credits  Production: Changing Channels is produced by Modern Podcasting. For virtual content capture and video-first podcasts, check out http://www.modpodstudio.com.  Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa  Voice-Over: Denise Quan 

Ted Schuman, founder and CEO of PlanetOne, joins Channelnomics' Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how vendors can better leverage data to improve customer experience and communication across the channel. It's easy to say we're living in the data age, and that data is the new fuel of the business engine, but it's a lot harder to execute on that vision than it seems. Big Data remains one of the biggest challenges many companies face as they seek to collect, manage, normalize, and analyze it to create single points of truth. Technology vendors are increasingly adopting data-centric models and strategies to drive partner behavior and performance, and to get more value out of the channels in which they invest. Making plans to do all this is the easy part; yielding deliverable results is the challenge. Even for companies that successfully harness data, making it actionable is a whole different story. That data is essentially useless unless it can be made consumable and broken down in a way customers and partners can understand and capitalize on. A vendor at the forefront of leveraging data to enhance the customer and partner experience is PlanetOne, which has long been known as a key technology sourcing partner. With Sentient, a scalable business intelligence platform, the company is giving vendors, agents, and customers visibility into the entire sales lifecycle – prospecting, provisioning, project management, activation, etc. – through a single pane of glass. PlanetOne is using its new platform to ensure the constant availability of real-time data analytics that can be used to generate actionable results according to users' needs. Through its automation capabilities, Sentient ensures effective internal and external communication to keep customers up to speed and create a positive partner experience. Ted Schuman, founder and CEO of PlanetOne, joins Channelnomics' Changing Channels host Larry Walsh to discuss how Sentient is enhancing the human experience and helping customers launch and expand their businesses. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Channelnomics    Changing Channels Is a Channelnomics Production Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics – the voice of thought leadership – we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.     Episode Resources Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Guest Ted Schuman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-schuman/   Credits Production: Changing Channels is produced by Modern Podcasting. For virtual content capture and video-first podcasts, check out http://www.modpodstudio.com. Host Larry Walsh: https://bit.ly/3beZfOa Voice-Over: Denise Quan

In this edition of The Holtz Story, we're joined by Larry Walsh, Founder, and CEO of Channelnomics. Larry oversees 2112's consulting and strategy services, which provide channel and go-to-market assessments, channel program development and operations, executive coaching, and communications support. Today we're discussing the MSP evolving landscape.The podcast opens with Larry and Tracy discussing the state of managed services today. They both agree managed services is a vibrant model. Larry points out weaknesses in the MSP model that leads to a robust discussion. As the conversation evolves, it shifts towards the Vendor/MSP relationship. Larry and Tracy both see this changing with vendors adapting to customer needs and MSP weaknesses. The conversation then turns to the evolution of MSPs into MSSPs; Larry expresses skepticism about MSP readiness and focus. Both he and Tracy agree there is an underlying talent availability issue. We end this podcast with a discussion on where the channel should focus now. Larry emphasizes the need to focus on business planning and execution. He believes there needs to be more focus on customer success. We hope you enjoy the show. If you do, please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, etc.).

In this episode of the Partner Channel Podcast, Larry Walsh sits down with Daniel to discuss key findings from Channelnomics annual reports and their impact on the ever-evolving role of channel managers. 

Internet of Things (IoT) is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. Connecting legacy systems to autonomous sensors and controllers are opening new vistas for creating smart enterprises, manufacturing, cities and homes. Vendors – old and new – are creating IoT components and systems to bring the smart world vision into reality. IoT architectures are popping up all over the channel. The expectations are high that IoT will result in greater user experiences and operational efficiencies. Moreover, IoT sellers and buyers have grand visions for immediate and ongoing returns on their investments. On the supply side of the IoT equation is the manufacturing process. IoT devices – sensors and controllers – must often operate in cramped, remote, and exposed locations. IoT devices require durability, as they'll operate in the wild for as long as a decade (or longer). And they require security during the manufacturing process to their lifetime operation. These are significant challenges the permeate the conception, design, manufacturing, architecture, deployment, and operational phases of the IoT lifecycle. CoreKinect, an IoT design and manufacturing startup, is solving these IoT manufacturing challenges with a unique process for quickly translating IoT concepts into prototypes, and prototypes into finished products. And when it comes to manufacturing at scale, CoreKinect is building the products it brings to reality in the United States ensuring end-to-end security and quality at surprisingly competitive costs. CoreKinect CEO and co-founder Assar Badri and president and chief strategist John Horn join Pod2112's Larry Walsh to discuss the smarter way to design and build IoT devices and systems.

Channel chiefs know they have to adapt or die in a technology market undergoing rapid and continuous change. Vendors are taking different approaches to channel transformation, but all have common characteristics that involve data analytics, cultural evolution, innovative compensation models, and new partner types and models. At the annual Channel Focus North America, the premier channel executive event produced by Baptie & Co., 2112 CEO and Pod2112 host Larry Walsh moderated a panel on channel transformation in the digital transformation age. The panel featured four seasoned channel leaders who brought different perspectives to the channel transformation challenge. In this special edition of Pod2112 features highlights of the discussion with Alyssa Fitzpatrick of Microsoft, Nick Tidd of Poly, Darren Bibby of DocuSign, and Chris Jones of AT&T.

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.

Not one, but two channel thought leaders share the spotlight today: Larry Walsh, CEO and Chief Analyst at The 2112 Group and Scott Salkin, CEO and Founder of Allbound. Larry and Scott chat about driving more revenue with the right partners on this episode of The Allbound Podcast. Larry, you wrote an article called "Scale Matters, but the Channel has Size Limits" and you state that if an organization wants to double its channel-generated revenue then its number of partners will need to increase by 115%. Can you explain? What I was saying in that blog post is there are natural limits to productivity. And if you accept that the 80/20 rule is alive and well in the channel, then you've also accepted that there's a speed limit to the number of partners, or the potential growth that you can get out of any side. Let's start by looking at the tenants of what the channel is supposed to do. The channel's supposed to extend market coverage, and particularly get you into niche markets. The other purpose is to create points of presence to create points of sales for customers to come in. Now, that theory works well, but there's a certain point after you start to exceed capacity, which is the reason why we actually have such an exaggerated 20% rule in the channel. So, the notion of squeezing more value out of the long tail, particularly, the extreme end of a long tail, becomes less advantageous. If you start pushing down the long tail, and you want to start growing your channels and thinking that you're going to double your channel revenue just by adding more partners, then you actually have to over-subscribe and get lesser value out of your partners over time, which is the reason why we come to a 115% increase just to double revenue rather than just a pure one over one increase.     Scott, reruitment has an enormous influence on channel program success. What should channel leaders be doing today when it comes to recruitment so they can focus on quality over quantity? Today's channel leaders have so much more access to data now that can tell them which partners are having the most success and also predict which partners are best postioned for success. We've got to get smarter with new more modern day KPI that doesn't just measure success based on how many partners you're bringing in, but exactly on what those partners are —  things like velocity rate, and how they're actually growing the business with you.   What advice can you give leaders who would like to transition into a more account-based partnering strategy? Larry: Start at the end.  When you make recruitment a metric, then it's all about bodies, or it's all about the number of companies. Stop making recruitments, or the number partners important. Make productivity of it important. When I say "start at the end," one of the other tenants of the channel is that it has to be a net contributor to the vendor or to the enterprise, and enterprise in this case, means business venture.  Scott:  Channel has to be aligned with your entire business. if you don't have the education, enablement, empowerment and training nailed down for your channel partner program, it's going to be hard to drive more revenue, create more margin, and add more logos to the business. You've got to take care of the partners you have, and you've got to help them be more successful.  To learn more about driving more revenue with channel partners, tune in to episode 39 of The Allbound Podcast.

Jay McBain, Global Advisor at Channel Mechanics, joins me, Jen Spencer to discuss shadow channels and the shift from IT buying power, verticalization (or hyperfocused vectorization), the future of the channel and more on this episode of The Allbound Podcast. Jen: Welcome to The Allbound Podcast, I am Jen Spencer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing here at Allbound. And today, I'm joined by Jay McBain who co-founded the company ChannelEyes, currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of the CompTIA Vendor Advisory Council and Managed Services Community. He is a Board member of the Channel Vanguard Council, the Ziff Davis Leadership Council, and CRN Channel Intelligence Council. In short, this man knows channel. Welcome, Jay. Jay: Thanks, Jen, really appreciate it. Glad to be here. Jen: Absolutely. Well, it's good to have you. And especially, really wanting to get caught up with you and what's going on in your world and I'm sure our listeners are also really interested about five months ago, you took on a free agent status. You said, "Okay, I'm leaving ChannelEyes," which was the channel tech startup that you helped co-found. So catch us up, what's had your attention the last year or so? Jay: Yeah, absolutely. I had spent the last while at ChannelEyes as CEO and they're working on some really interesting stuff around predictive analytics and artificial intelligence. And I think in the next three to five years, most of us in the channel will be using computers to help us do our daily tasks...help us with our daily tasks and get us to the finish line faster. And I think now that the company transitions to a CEO that can better position the company with some of the leading CRM players in the market like Salesforce and Microsoft. And who knows, further down the road, to really make something happen. Jen: Great, great. So what are you focused on right now as a channel professional in your world? Jay: That's a great question and I was at CompTIA last week and probably answered the question at least 100 times so... Jen: I'm sure. I'm sure. Jay: One of the answers is I spent almost 20 years working at IBM and Lenovo in different channel roles including channel chief roles. And they were always Americas based, either North America or full Americas, and I never really got a lot of exposure to Europe and Australia and Asia-Pacific. And what I've decided to do in the last five months is work closely. I've been to Australia and going back again working with a very large telco there, I'm working with this great company in Ireland which is where I'm sitting right now in Ireland. The company is called Channel Mechanics and they've really looked at the channel management space and they've done some really innovative things. So looking internationally but also looking obviously to work with some very interesting challenges, which I'm sure we'll touch on on this podcast. Jen: Great. So let's, dig in to some of that. I've followed a lot of what you've been writing about specifically around channel, something that you previously called out, is that a large number of channel programs that tend to get stuck in the exact same place. And you wield it down to two key conclusions. So one, that some vendors will simply win because their product wins. And then two, that other vendors will win because they know how to influence the channel. So I'd like to know, what do you mean by that? Jay: Yeah, this is one of my kind of personal passions and I think it started when I read the book "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. He's got this great chapter early on in the book. I think it's chapter 2, about Paul Revere. What a great connector Paul Revere was in 1776 and why that won the day more so than riding a horse through all these towns, and why the other person who left on horseback that night wasn't successful. And this idea of influencers or connectors and super connectors, when I moved to the United States from Canada in 2009, I looked at the market and looked at the millions of people that participate in the channel and I didn't have 15 years to catch up to the relationships that I had in Canada at the time. So I kind of boiled it down and said, "What is this influence and how would you measure it?" And in 2009, I generated a list of the top 100 most influential people in the global channel and I did it again, actually, about 4 months ago on my blog. And seven or eight years had passed and it's interesting to see people have changed positions and everything else. But it's a very analytical numeric way of assigning scores for people's influence. And just to give a quick synopsis is back in 2009, I figured out that there are 16 magazines that channel people read. There's 150 trade shows globally that channel people go to. There's thousands of vendors. There's dozens of distributors. There's bloggers, thought-leaders, associations, analysts. When you look around this web of influencing sites, what people read, where they go, and who they follow, it's across different mediums but they're all available. So I took and read every magazine. I wrote down every name of everyone in the magazines. I went to most of the trade shows in my first year and took note of who the keynote speakers, and the advisory council, and the board members, and all the key people at these events. I did the same for peer groups. I did the same for the associations and analysts. And as I came around, I came to about 1,000 names. But what was more important to me is how visible they were across multiple different communities. In our channel, it's so wide and diverse. But more importantly, it's decentralized. Channel partners don't have the time to go and read 12 magazines. So they tend to focus on one community and at most, maybe two to get their information to reinforce their expertise and to really peer network. And we look at these organizations, there's about 30 of them in North America that they're a part of. And I was really looking at how many people influenced in more of these 30 communities. And really, for me, reach was more important than maybe... that's all I could find out on Google. I couldn't find out how important they were in each community but I could definitely measure their reach. And so, I just added this really simple spreadsheet, and I just started adding check marks beside each name every time I saw them more than once. And after 1,000 names and thousands and thousands of check marks, I just sorted by whoever had the most check marks. And interestingly enough, in 2009, Larry Walsh, who was long time CRN editor, kind of patriarch of the channel, but he ranked number one and I didn't know who Larry Walsh was but I knew I had to go meet him. And then, all the way down the list I wanted to meet. And as I met probably 20 to 30 of the top 100 people, the other 70 came rushing to me. Not because I was important but because they sensed that I was doing this and talking to these important people and maybe I was important. But to a connector, they don't want to be left in the dark. So it's really important to them to know what's going on and to be able to kind of stay on the inside of things. So it was kind of really fascinating and over the last seven or eight years, I've written a lot and I've studied the level of influence that people have in the channel and there's a direct correlation between people having a high influence and carrying their company to great new heights. Jen: I think that holds true, regardless of what sort of industry or what segment of the market you're in, especially from that leadership perspective. I think it's also interesting, we talk to a lot of folks who are not your traditional type of channel organization, not your traditional enterprise IT company. Maybe they're a small or more mid-market size organization, software company, ready to kind of build a channel. A lot of folks are looking at an agency-based program. Upcoming on a future podcast episode, I'm going to be interviewing Pete Caputa from HubSpot who's now at Databox and has assured us that he's building the agency partner program to end all partner programs. And so when I think about influence, I think about an individual like that. So would you say that this concept of influencing the channel is just as strong in the evolution of where channel is going? Is it even more important than ever? I mean, what is your take on it because looking at 2017 compared to 2008, not that much time has gone by but there's been a lot of change in that time period? Jay: Well, there absolutely has, and some of the things I wrote about later last year, I call them shadow channels. But I've got this personal belief that your average vendor, their channel program is going to grow by at least 5X in the next three or four years. And the reason really goes back to the customer buy-in journey. And people at HubSpot know this very, very well but over the last 10 years, 90% of all IT decisions 10 years ago were made in the IT department. Makes sense, CIO. And today, it's flipped completely where 72% of all decisions are made outside of the IT department. It's now the VP of sales and marketing, operations, and finance, and HR, and all the way down the line that are making big technology decisions that are business decisions. And what's happening to traditional vendors is sometimes they're not in the room. Well, most cases, they're not in the room. When a VP of marketing like yourself is making a technology decision, a lot of times you don't have the person who's fixing your printer in the room. Jen: Wait, wait, hold on. Jay, I'm the person who fixes the printer here, so should it be someone else fixing... Jay: Oh. Jen: Just... Jay: That's right. Startup life, you know. Jen: Startup life. Yeah, I know, I'm sorry, I had to insert that. I had to insert that. But no, no, I agree with you 100% what you're saying, right? So I buy technology all the time and we do have someone here who's responsible for overseeing all technology and he has a zero influence on what I choose to buy to run our sales and marketing team. Jay: Right. And so, in the sense of if you put yourself under traditional vendor's space and you're trying to install traditional hardware, like you're selling software or other services, and now you need to get in front of Jen Spencer and, you know, who are you using to influence you. You might have somebody from HubSpot or Marketo in the room. You probably have somebody from your industry in the room that's a tech expert on your industry. In some cases, this could be accountants. They could be legal firms. They could be digital agencies. In your case, it might be a digital agency in the room. You could also have other ISVs in the room that play in ecosystems like a Marketo or HubSpot or Pardot or whichever one you play in. They're going to be in there because they know how to drive more leads for a company specifically like yours. You may have a startup in the room that's built with piece of technology and you're going to be one of their early customers so they want to make sure it succeeds. But you look at the five people in the room and it's not the printer person. It's not the person that installed your phones. So in other words, it's not the IT department. And so, if you're a traditional vendor spending all your time trying to recruit MSPs and solution providers and VARs from days gone by, guess what? You just missed out of a technology decision because your influence isn't in the room when it was made. Jen: Right. Jay: Now put yourself in the shoes of...let's talk VP of marketing and let's talk ambulatory care...healthcare clinic, midsized, 50 doctors, in the Northeast U.S. And in the room with that VP of marketing, again, it's probably that person from Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot, whatever it is, Eloqua, probably somebody that is an expert in healthcare driving leads for midsized clinics who's had success in the past, with five other clinics of the same size and scope. But these five people are different five people than what the IT department would have in the room. And so, you're not talking about routers and PCs, and you're not talking about, traditional licensing and everything else. You're talking about driving more leads or you're talking about a marketing problem. And to be relevant, vendors either a) need to train their current channels to be valuable to the VP of marketing in the clinic, which is less likely to happen. It's more likely that they then have to go and recruit and nurture these five other types of partners, and you call them alliances. You can call them whatever you want but the incentive is different, the way you manage them and measure them is different. The entire relationship is different. But the point is, there's so many more rooms that you have to be influencing now that your channel program is just invariably going to grow. Jen: So, you call these “shadow channels”, and when I think about like shadow marketing, shadow IT, usually, it's a very negative connotation to it. There's work going on that's outside of your viewpoint, that is in most cases negatively-impacting whatever the core function is. But what you just described doesn't sound negative, right? So are these shadow channels, is this the future? Is this a good thing for these organizations? Jay: Yeah, well, there's good and bad. And depending on the audience that I talk to, is which one I'll start with. The good news is businesspeople are now making business decisions around technology. All companies are becoming technology companies and all other professional organizations and industry, association, everything else, are becoming technology-based just because that's the way world works. All 27 industries now are pretty much 27 tech industries depending on agriculture, fisheries, or whatever they do. You know, that's become such a big role. So, the world has changed. And the reason it was called shadow IT or rogue IT is back in the day, where 10%, and then it became 20%, and then 30% of decisions are made by these people who have no idea what's going on with technology and they don't understand security and they don't understand backups and disaster recovery and they're not of the adult in the room which, you know, the CIO or IT department would claim to be. And so they were rogue, they need to be stumped. Well, the fact of the matter...and these are Gardener numbers, by the way, 72% of all the decisions today are now made outside of IT, so it's no longer rogue or shadow. It is literally the new normal. And the prediction by 2020 is that 90% of all decisions will be made outside of IT. So in 10 years, there's been pretty much a 180-degree turn in terms of where the decisions are made. And this isn't changing. And businesspeople are making business technology decisions and that's the way the world should work. It's been a big boom for SaaS companies. And it's been pretty hard for technology companies and hardware companies, specifically, because they're trying to still find their place in these conversations when these decisions are being made outside of their normal feasibility. Jen: It makes perfect sense and it's a good opportunity for consultants, for people like yourself to let you go in and really help some of those organizations along this evolution of the way that channel and selling today, tech buyers today has definitely changed. I want to ask you now about another topic that you've written about, that you spoke about. You talked about channel vectors or vectorization. And you said that verticalization is being replaced by hyperfocused vectorization. So I'm hoping perhaps you can clarify what you mean by that. And then, I want to explore, what today's executive needs to consider as he or she is scooping out plans to grow through channel over the next 5 years, because there are a lot of these organizations that maybe they've hit $10 million in annual recurring revenue and they're looking at, "How do we get to $100?" And they're looking at channel as a way to do that. So what do they need to know from this new vectorization perspective? Jay: Yeah, it's another example of me making up a word and then all of a sudden... Jen: I love it. Jay: It's really good for Google SEO if you actually make up your own word. It's actually pretty cheap, first of all. But all kidding aside, let's go back to the healthcare VP marketing in a midsized clinic. And you're looking at the 5 people in the room and 10 years ago, for an IT provider, it was okay to say, "Hey, I got to move from being a generalist to a specialist." "Well, what are you going to do?" "Hey, well, I'm going to specialize in healthcare." "Well, that's fantastic." So what they do is they go out and read HIPAA and HITECH, and, they get a couple people certified, and they can talk their way out of a paper bag when it comes to patient records and compliancy and even some legal. But again, the world in this journey has changed things for them. So if you're that VP of marketing at a midsized clinic and you have somebody in your office that says, "Hey, I know a lot about healthcare." You're like, "Well, that's great. That's one of the vectors. What would be even better is if you knew not only healthcare but midsized clinics, so the sub-industry. The fact that you put in a solution for a 500-doctor firm probably doesn't have a ton of relevance to me because I don't have those resources. So that's another thing. The fact that you installed in Colorado may not be as relevant as it is in New York because of the different statewide bureaucracy and everything else. I mean, there's just that 50 different systems in 50 different states. So if you start asking these questions, there's actually five vectors. And as a VP of marketing in a midsized clinic, you're not going to ever get that perfect person who has all five. "Listen, I've just done the last five clinics exactly your size, just down the street. I've just done your competitors. They're the guinea pigs. I know exactly what to do. Here's my price. I can get started right away." That would be perfect. That doesn't work. So all you only end up doing is, "If somebody knows healthcare that's better than not knowing healthcare." I put that in quotes, air quotes. But that's one vector. So, flipping it aside, "I want somebody who knows my business. I want somebody who's been successful in my sub-industry. I want to know somebody who's been successful in marketing. I don't care if you put in an accounting app, or I don't care if you put in an IT solution. I need the drive leads. I need you to be focused on my line of business. I need you to be focused on my sub-industry. I need you to focus on my region." So these are the types of things that you push back on. And if you can get two or three out of five, it's much better than just getting that generalist in the room who might have one out of five, or none out of five. Jen: I think that's such a good kind of point to make and maybe even to end on here, because we've talked about how the channel is no longer just a channel. It's no longer just kind of a one-way street or even a two-way street. I mean it is a complete ecosystem. The story you just spun about healthcare IT, about being able to plug in to Salesforce to really put that on steroids to make it work for somebody to do their business, I mean that is absolutely our present and our future of the way that sales ecosystems are growing. And organizations that embrace it, organizations like Salesforce, organizations like Microsoft, that embrace that type of channel environment are reaping the rewards of it, the benefits of that in addition to their partners as well. So I love it. I'm glad you invented the word vectorization. I'll have to start using it. Jay: Great to participate. I've actually wanted to do this since you started. But one of the key things is you asked me to look forward five years. Jen: Yeah, absolutely. Jay: Vendors need to look at the toolset that they're using. And many of the tools that they're currently managing the current triangle of gold and silver and bronze partners they have the same program they built 20 years ago, they need to refresh their tools. If they're going to grow their channel by 5X, they need to seriously look at a tool like GoalBot, take collaboration to a completely different level. They need to look at a tool like Channel Mechanics. They need to look at new, fresh thinking around how to do this because if you try to force-fit your old ecosystem, your old infrastructure into this new world, it's going to be very, very difficult. And many vendors are now realizing that and looking for those right SaaS companies and others to plug together, to kind of manage these new channels, measure these new channels and set these new channels. And in the end grow with these new channels. Jen: Absolutely. I mean, it's that old saying that, "What got you to where you are today may not be what's going to get you to where you want to go tomorrow." And so, I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment. Thank you so much. I'm not going to let you go just yet, though, Jay. So since you said you listened to the podcast, you've been excited about being on it, then I'm going to ask you some other questions. So you already know this is coming. Jay: I know it. Jen: Okay. All right. So, yeah. Well, I'd like to ask some more personal questions just so we can kind of shake things up and get to know a little bit more about you as a person. So first question I want to start with is what's your favorite city? Jay: Oh, that's a good one. I have traveled to 27 countries now. All of that spent on vacation, one of the blogs I write is "Rollerblades and Red Bull," the idea is to get to every country in the world. Right now, it would be tough to say the absolute but I would say Prague. Jen: Prague, awesome. I haven't been there but I've heard amazing things about it. So I heard it's a really beautiful city. Jay: Very, very difficult to rollerblade in, by the way. Jen: Okay, I won't try that, at least not the first time I go. Okay. Question number two, are you an animal lover? Yes or no? Jay: Yes, we have...we just actually...we had two dogs and one cat. And they were all 13 or 14 years old and we lost them all within 6 months. But, we're kind of in that mode now. We've got two young daughters as well I've got two daughters in college. But we're thinking about the family pets now and looking at different breeds so very excited to rescue some new pets. Jen: Oh, good. Well, you have to keep us posted. We love pets at Allbound. Our pets have an Instagram account called "Allbound Critters." So when you do have a new pet join your family, you have to let me know so I can give you guys a shout-out there. Jay: Will do. Jen: Okay, next question for you, Mac or PC? Jay: Well, being a 20-year IBM and Lenovo guy, the answer's going to shock you, I'm 95% Apple. So from iPhones to Watch to the laptop I'm on right now, everything, except for real work, is on an Apple. When I talked about analyzing the thousands of people that run this industry and running all these AI and macros and heavy, heavy lifting, I have one super-powered, liquid-cooled, top-end gaming machine at home that I do serious work on. But everything else is Apple. Jen: Everything else is Apple. All right. All right. There you go. And last question. Let's say I was able to offer you an all-expenses paid trip, where would it be to? Jay: That's a good question. So back to visiting every country in the world, the next, probably Middle Africa. Jen: Oh, what interests you about Middle Africa? Jay: A) that I haven't been there. Jen: Okay, yeah. Jay: I've been to most regions... You know, when I see the weather report that has 50 or 60 cities, most of them...well, almost of them I've been to. So now, I'm in the mode of, "I've got to go to dangerous places now." You can't go to the Middle East. A lot of Africa is off-limits. But it gets much harder to travel once you've knocked off the easy ones. Now you've got to start knocking off ones that have government warnings, or can add a little bit of risk. So that's what entices me about going to Middle Africa and maybe at Uganda, or Kenya, and help build schools or do something good for the world. Jen: Sounds wonderful. Well, thank you so much. Thanks for joining me, for sharing some of your time with us, especially calling in from Ireland where I know it's late at night. If any of our listeners would like to reach out to you personally, what's the best way for them to connect with you? If folks want to talk about going to Kenya with you, or they want to talk about fixing their channel, how should they reach you? Jay: Absolutely. My website, my blog that most of what we've talked about today, is jaymcbain.com. It's jaymcbain.com. There is at least 50 ways on there that you can contact me through every social and my cellphone and everything else. If you just want to hit me with a quick tweet. It's the letter "J" mcbain, M-C-B-A-I-N, so jmcbain. Hit me there and we can go from there. Jen: Perfect. Well, thanks again, Jay. Thanks, everyone else, for tuning in, and catch us next week for an all-new episode of The Allbound Podcast. Announcer: Thanks for tuning in to The Allbound Podcast. For past episodes and additional resources, visit the Resource Center at allbound.com. And remember, never sell alone