Opinion

Opinion

Channel Partner Programmes

• What the drive for sustainability means for IT distributors

  Howard Davies, CEO & co-founder of Context, shares his thoughts about what the push towards net zero by vendors means for the channel  Continue Reading

• The evolution of the distributor: From credit lines to sales acceleration

  Matt Paynter, vendor alliances director, UK and Ireland at Exclusive Networks compares the then and now in Distribution  Continue Reading

• HP Amplify Impact: What’s next for the sustainability programme?

  Almost two years since its launch, there’s strong progress and an exciting future for the industry’s leading partner sustainability programme  Continue Reading

• Powering strong partnerships for successful digital transformation

  César Cernuda, president at NetApp, shares his thoughts about the need for collaboration to support success  Continue Reading

• Expanding the distribution footprint

  The Global Technology Distribution Council has shared some thoughts about the state of the channel, which has caught the eye of Billy MacInnes  Continue Reading

• That channel and vendor relationship really matters

  The channel is all about relationships and the latest insights from CompTIA have underlined that  Continue Reading

• Things sound good now, but will they stay that way?

  Broadcom is making the right noises to the channel after its acquisition of VMware, but Billy MacInnes has heard these sorts of positive soundings before  Continue Reading

• Nutanix: 2022 channel predictions

  Vendor’s EMEA channel chief shares what he believes will feature on the partner landscape in the year ahead  Continue Reading

• The cyber security channel – what’s in store for 2021?

  Ben Richardson, head of channel EMEA at Forcepoint, shares his thoughts about what cyber security could look like in the year ahead  Continue Reading

• Why consultation helps IT service providers keep customers for longer

  Managed service providers need to focus on the ‘partner’ aspect of their role, says Mav Turner, group vice-president of products for SolarWinds MSP  Continue Reading

• There is no one-size-fits-all

  Vendors would like to think that they understand partners but as Billy MacInnes points out that is a hard challenge when so many are different from each other  Continue Reading

• How the GSI partner model has supported customers with distributed workforces

  Adam Tarbox, director of the global system integrator business for EMEA at Nutanix, shares his thoughts about the impact of the pandemic and the GSI partner model  Continue Reading

• What will the next phase of working look like due to Covid-19?

  Andy Jane, CTO at Olive Communications, looks back at the past couple of weeks as the UK has been on lockdown to see how businesses have coped during the initial stage of the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis  Continue Reading

• Zero clients: The future of mobile security for the channel?

  As cyber attacks and security breaches continue to grow, IT managers are seeking new ways to secure their critical business data. While thin clients have been a good option in the past, they have limited benefits for remote working. That is where ...  Continue Reading

• Distribution – the new queen of reinvention

  The IT world is all too aware of the increasing speed of reinvention, says Jonathan Wagstaff, Exertis Group, business intelligence manager  Continue Reading

• The catch-22 of cyber security

  The cyber security industry is booming, which is good news for the channel – but that means the cyber threat is increasing too  Continue Reading

• Beware of falling for the hype machine

  With more companies resorting to hyperbole to sell products, Billy MacInnes warns of the necessity to see past exaggeration and look at the true effectiveness of products and technology  Continue Reading

• Distribution model is alive and well

  Warren Buffett’s interest in Tech Data represents a very strong endorsement of distribution and the channel’s role  Continue Reading

• Opportunities and threats with Microsoft 365 Business Voice

  The latest announcement from Microsoft brings significant business benefits and increased revenue to its resellers  Continue Reading

• What resellers want: Countering customer frustrations

  Alex Tatham, managing director of Westcoast, discusses his conclusions from the results of the company’s recent survey  Continue Reading

• Changing of the guard: Will technology leaders soon set business strategy?

  IT must increasingly align with the business to keep up with modern customer demands, leading to a change of how the technology leadership role is performed  Continue Reading

• Digital transformation: How far are we really in the journey?

  Are customers really in as much of a hurry to digitally transform as the shrillest advocates of the technology would like us to believe?  Continue Reading

• Westcoast and iland present a tale of two disties

  Talking to just a couple of distributors reveals the evolution and determination from those firms to remain ahead of the market  Continue Reading

• Commercial PC growth better for channel than consumer PC growth

  The commercial PC segment experienced a 15% sales increase in July, while consumer sales dropped by 2% – but that’s better than the other way round  Continue Reading

• The hybrid cloud and clearing technical debt

  When done properly, hybrid infrastructure can deliver efficiency, cost savings and performance, but with so many options available, good advice from a channel partner is key to achieving these benefits  Continue Reading

• What are the risks of not responding to a critical alarm in time?

  When selling management tools, managed service providers need to educate users about the importance of acting on the alarms generated by such equipment  Continue Reading

• Apstra stops the cyber criminals from loitering with intent

  Intent-based networking fine-tunes all the complicated variables that influence the performance of a network infrastructure and can head off any potential cock-ups  Continue Reading

• Shifting business model to benefit from the rise in cloud

  Channel partners will need to undergo their own version of digital transformation to take full advantage of the shift to cloud  Continue Reading

• Save your tiers – Infosec 2019 could be the start of a common-sense revolution, says Becrypt

  There are changes afoot in the infosecurity market, with Deep Secure seeking partners’ help in fighting the curse of steganography, Ignition Technology’s identity offering creating appeal beyond the IT department, and Becrypt taking its disk ...  Continue Reading

• Scaling new heights

  In the third and final part in his series, Predatar’s Alistair Mackenzie considers the top four technological challenges businesses are likely to face when they’re looking to scale their recurring revenue model  Continue Reading

• How to make channel sales work

  To be effective in channel sales, you have to be a great project manager, able to influence without formal organisational power and operate effectively at every level in an organisation. Read on for advice on how to succeed  Continue Reading

• A bridge too VAR

  The expedition from VAR to MSP is not short of challenges but, equipped with the right map, ambitious companies can feel more confident in getting past first base. In the second part of his series, Predatar CEO Alistair Mackenzie takes a closer look...  Continue Reading

• How resellers can cash in by making their clients Siccura

  Security should be the most exciting sector in IT, yet the marketing is dull and unimaginative. We need stories of cops and robbers, not another set of meaningless statistics  Continue Reading

• Help us to help you – how the customer-first model helps you empower your business

  We are in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution, with technologies such as the internet of things, data analytics, artificial intelligence and cloud-based business management tools a regular talking point. But technology alone won’t solve ...  Continue Reading

• Eight tips to lead your prospect from discovery to purchase

  With stronger competition than ever, it can be difficult for the channel to help their teams succeed in their sales proposals – here are eight tips to help you on your way  Continue Reading

• The channel is really big business

  Channel revenues at Dell have gained the attention of quite a few industry watchers, Billy MacInnes included  Continue Reading

• Drive that growth through the channel

  Avaya’s comments about increasing revenues via partners have got the thumbs-up from Billy MacInnes, who hopes it will act as an example to others  Continue Reading

• Channelling the cloud – building healthy CSP relationships

  Creating a successful relationship with cloud service providers is essential for channel partners looking to increase their cloud portfolio. iLand 's director of channel sales has five tips to make the most of the opportunity  Continue Reading

• Partners the key to unlocking SME sales

  Vendors want to increase SME sales and Billy MacInnes knows that working with the channel is the only way to achieve that goal  Continue Reading

• Veritas reveals channel’s role in growth strategy

  The vendor is “on a mission” to drive channel sales in midmarket and enterprise  Continue Reading

• DataDirect Networks keeps the Tintri channel going

  Billy MacInnes is impressed with the proactive channel approach being taken by DDN  Continue Reading

• When it comes to privacy, technology is only part of the story

  Philippe Ortodoro, VP EMEA Channel Sales, TrustArc, explains why the coming two years are going to be a business bonanza for the channel  Continue Reading

• Coming back to the channel: why it’s time to rethink reselling

  Neil Robertson, CEO of Compleat Software, shares the motivation for the firm's re-engagement with the channel  Continue Reading

• Considerations on a European channel strategy

  Brad Parks, VP of business development at Morpheus Data, shares some of the thoughts that go through then mind of a vendor looking at increasing European channel coverage  Continue Reading

• Dell builds on the incumbency programme

  The flurry of announcements coming out of the partner shindig in Las Vegas have included indications, picked up by Billy MacInnes, that the vendor is building on past work it has carried out with partners  Continue Reading

• Dell is deadly serious about the channel

  Things have changed at the once mighty direct giant and Billy MacInnes comments on a firm now heavily targeted on the channel  Continue Reading

• Is it worth taking out a file on WekaIO? It seems to be disrupting the data industry

  The artificial intelligence data player is on the hunt for channel partners and Nick Booth thinks the firm is worth a closer look  Continue Reading

• There will be change but the channel is constant

  Plenty of vendors are changing their partner programmes but as Billy MacInnes looks at recent examples he concludes all are looking for a long future relationship with partners  Continue Reading