Chris Shaw, UKI&SA country channel manager at AvePoint, has been driving the efforts to widen the channel base and increase awareness about the options it can provide partners looking to add software-as-a-service (SaaS) management and data protection to their pitch.
He said its ability to engage with top resellers and MSPs was borne out at OnPoint, which has grown significantly over the past 18 months.
“It’s a really good evolution of what we’ve done, and it’s a really good vindication of what AvePoint is doing in the space,” he added. “That’s evolution, going from that one-dimensional view of just having one technology to [looking at] how you build a robust security platform with AvePoint.”
Shaw is focusing on a message that encourages partners to sell solutions and work across the suite of products available from AvePoint to gain more share of wallet with existing customers.
“Don’t think that what you’re doing with us is the entirety of everything you can do with us. Have a look at the broader spectrum of what we can do, how to work with AvePoint,” he said. “You can lean on our resources – how you can use our marketing tools, how you can use a partner portal – as well as the partner programme, to help you drive your sales and do more.”
Don’t think that what you’re doing with us is the entirety of everything you can do with us. Have a look at the broader spectrum of what we can do, how to work with AvePoint
Chris Shaw, AvePoint
He added: “How do you take a customer from A to B? How do you secure their data? How do you make sure that they do more than just sell one particular thing? How do you position AvePoint as a toolkit?”
Shaw said the firm was still expanding its channel base, but it wanted to ensure those it worked with were able to add value.
“We need to make sure we have the right type of partner, and that is focused on people who want to listen, have a conversation about what we can do with them. Start to work out mutual areas of business,” he added. “It’s about how we build a partnership, because that’s important for us.”
Shaw said the channel team had put effort into developing relationships over 2024, and it had seen the results of that activity.
“Our growth at AvePoint in this particular space is noticeable,” he said, adding that its numbers were not yet out, but it was clear that the channel’s performance in the first quarter of this year had been up on the same period in 2024.
“Our partners are going to grow the partnerships we’re fostering with certain accounts. They’re really starting to bear some fruit, and we’re doing all right. It’s about listening, it’s making sure we understand how we help partners, and it’s backing people who want to engage us in the way that we can help them, making sure that we can invest time, effort and a bit of money into people, with a plan, with structures and partnerships. That’s ultimately what we want to do. We want to create partnerships that benefit both sides,” he said.
