Diane Krakora
As Alison Watson, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, laid out the high level next generation partnering strategy at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Houston, I was impressed with the partnering machine that is the organization that spends billions — that’s with a B — on partnering every year. They certainly turn out a mountain of programs, initiatives and confusion. So, during Watson’s keynote at WPC, I ended up expecting more radical ideas and innovative initiatives and yet wanting less for the sake of simplicity. (more…)
July 23, 2008
By Diane Krakora
Holding a worldwide partner conference in Houston in July? Are you kidding me? That’s no way to show partners’ the love. I’ve been to 8 partner summits this year and it ends with Houston in July? Where is the love? Cisco’s held their partner summit in Honolulu in April. Now that’s big partner love. Even IBM’s partner business leadership conference in Los Angeles in May is better than Houston in July.
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July 11, 2008
By Diane Krakora
It’s always emotional whenever a leader leaves. Look at Bill Gates recent tearful farewell as a recent example. Or Cal Ripkin leaving baseball. Regardless of why Diane Greene was dismissed from VMware - whether it’s because they missed their sales numbers or she doesn’t have operational experience as the media reports - there is a way to transition leadership. Ripping the CEO out of a public company is not the way. Could they not have provided a 3 or 6 month transition plan? Maybe promote a COO to help with the operational issues? I’m all for ripping the band-aid off - I tend to act quickly once I’ve made a decision. But when leadership changes, it’s a highly emotional time for the many groups touched by the leader and requires a bit of patience.
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July 10, 2008
Mary Lee Shalvoy
School may be out for the summer, but in the business world, the need for training never takes a break. It’s a hot topic in our (consulting) circles. Well, it’s not hot in the “this is the latest, coolest thing” kind of way, but more in just figuring out how to manage it in all of its complexities.
If you haven’t already heard, there is an enormous IT talent shortage, which equals a big gap in terms of talent when staffing partners and corporations. It’s been reported widely in the press and on the Web that in order for the big vendors to meet their growth targets, they need to get people up and trained on their products and technology in general.
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July 3, 2008
by Diane Krakora
“SMB” has been the on the tips of channel chiefs’ tongues for years. The partner community has heard all the partner program “hype”, and most of them live the dynamics of serving this market every day. But vendors are paying more than lip service as they make major investments in corporate strategy, sales resources and marketing to enable the channel as the primary route-to-market for various sub-segments of the SMB market.
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May 2, 2008
By Diane Krakora
We recently gathered 20 or so people from 18 companies to discuss partnering strategies in a soft economy. We opened the discussion with channel executives from companies such as Adobe, BEA, Google, Intuit, NetApp, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and our host, VMware, by asking how they were planning to leverage partners differently in the economic downturn. And after a few minutes of blank stares, we realized we asked the wrong question. The initial question should have been are you seeing an economic downturn? I’m a little perplexed by the mixed signals (more…)
April 10, 2008
Ingrid Krivin
The market buzz around managed services seems to be growing daily, and many of Amazon Consulting’s clients are testing the waters here with partner engagement programs. However, some would argue that end-user IT buying patterns for widespread adoption of IT outsourcing and managed services are still 3-5 years off, and many remember the late 1990’s and early 2000’s MSP trial models where many investors met with fiscal disaster.
As these new delivery models are evolving, one might argue that the fundamental principles of building a strong partnering value proposition and program are the same as they’ve ever been. Segmenting your partner community, looking closely at desired business models, and building compelling and profitable programs for partners aren’t new ideas. Let’s think it through..
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April 10, 2008
By Diane Krakora.
I was in Las Vegas, yet again, for the start of yet another conference season. You’d think because I met my husband at a conference in Vegas (at N+I 15 years ago) that I would have a fondness for this place. But I don’t. It’s noisy, smoky and usually hot, which I like, but it is actually cold this time. No matter, most likely I won’t be going outside for the three days I’m here.
I’m here for the HP America’s Partner Conference (APC). As I waked into HP CEO and Chairman Mark Hurd’s keynote the evening prior to the start of the conference, the band was blaring and the room was packed with anticipation.
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March 20, 2008
In our recent PAC, there were sessions weaved into the program where the client was not present in the room and proved to be the most powerful part of the program. Without the clients in the room, the partners can provide honest feedback without feeling a need to grandstand to make a point or fear of potential retribution. These partner-only sessions result in the PAC developing into a unified team and presented a single voice to vendor management. Typically, the meetings result in 10-12 prioritized issues or concerns which are presented directly to the management team. This relatively anonymous feedback helps the vendor understand which issues are the biggest hurdles to the sales, profitability and loyalty.
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February 25, 2008
