A strong channel partner relationship is a necessity for today’s solution provider business to thrive in this era of always-on network connectivity and expanding mobile solutions. Partner programs provide a support network that includes the latest product information, marketing strategies, educational material and competitive incentives, ensuring that everyone involved is invested in the relationship. Verizon Enterprise Solutions recently announced enhancements to its own Verizon Partner Program — named a 5-Star Partner Program for 2015 by CRN — to help solution providers make the switch to Verizon network products and services.
I recently sat down with three channel leaders — Gene Esopi, president, SOVA; Tim Acker, vice president, mobility, SYNNEX and Adam Famularo, vice president, global channels, Verizon Enterprise Solutions — to discuss the importance of partner programs for solution providers.
Gene Esopi, President, SOVA
How important is the partner relationship in the Channel?
Esopi: The partner relationship is more important than ever. Partner programs are critical to all organizations that want to leverage their own strengths with those of their partners, in an effort to deliver optimum solutions to their end users. Channel collaboration allows companies to create solutions that are more than the sum of their individual parts and I think that's really what partnership is all about.
Acker: A partner program that is prescriptive, has very clear rules of engagement and enablement is absolutely crucial. Also, the relationship between the reseller and the end user is getting closer and closer and there's a lot more complexity. That reseller wants to be more and more relevant, so they are relying on companies like us — and ultimately on Verizon — to provide an entire solution. We take the mystery out of the business planning and the go-to-market approach together and help our partners ultimately deliver a more comprehensive end-to-end solution.
Adam Famularo, Vice President, Global Channels, Verizon Enterprise Solutions
Famularo: The partner program is the foundational piece that actually makes this relationship work. It's the business model that we are going to operate within. So when a new member comes into the Verizon family, they know how to operate — they know what margins they will receive and they understand the expectations in regards to training and enablement. They know what they can gain in return by hitting certain revenue metrics, and they have a formal business plan in place around a defined go-to-market strategy together. Those are the defining pieces that the partner program brings to the table.
What are some of the biggest challenges that your partners need help with?
Esopi: Our partners are struggling with recognizing the new opportunities that the changing technology landscape is providing. They are looking for help in how to take advantage of these changes, so that they have a strategic one-up on their competitors. Finally, they are looking for help with how to integrate different partner services into their core portfolio and deliver new solutions to market.
Tim Acker, Vice President, Mobility, SYNNEX
Acker: The proliferation of the technology stack — how fast it's moving — is one of the biggest things that's keeping our partners up at night. The role of the IT provider to the end user is changing very rapidly. You used to have this clear separation between the telecom provider and the IT guy, but now the two have converged with unified communications and other technologies. Today’s reseller must become a trusted advisor and answer the hard questions for his or her customers. How are they using IT and information aspects to run their businesses and to monitor equipment? Are they getting the right return on other capital investments? Are they servicing their customers the right way? The biggest question I hear from VARs is "How do I stay ahead of all this change and how do I use unique partnerships to be relevant throughout my customers’ business stack — not just in the core IT function?"
Famularo: What Tim is saying is spot on. When you start focusing on the business outcomes you really have to look at the whole technology stack. Whether or not it's a cloud-based service, security, the network everything will run on — they are looking at all the different components of the stack and not just one piece of it. You are seeing this in multiple areas, including cloud and collaboration. For us, it's really about determining what the outcome the member is trying to achieve is, and then making sure they are lined up with all the best solutions to deliver it.
How are you helping them alleviate these challenges?
Esopi: That's the $64,000 question. We like to bring multiple partners into a roundtable-type training session where they can each talk about their solutions, their products and their services. This generally opens up conversation that expands into some form of collaborative effort. These are smaller one-on-one sessions and webinars where we bring in network, cloud or wireless providers with equipment and have them talk about what each brings to the table. When these people get on a call or in a room together, a lot of ideas pop up that previously didn't exist in their company structure. We are looking to build strong relationships, the opportunity to match up partners that really fit together and drive volume.
Visit Verizon News & Insights to read the second part of this candid conversation.
Visit Verizon’s Partner Program to learn more about member benefits, resources and enrollment opportunities.
