Shows
Ecosystem AcesKatie Landaal: Building and Leading Successful Partner EcosystemsEstablishing and maintaining enduring partnerships is a task that undeniably transcends the capabilities of one individual. Yet, within their responsibility lies the capacity to be an effective leader—guiding the team in unison and ensuring a shared direction. This involves skillfully overseeing the team through consistent delegation, strategic prioritization, and fostering open communication.In this episode, Katie Landaal, SVP, Global Alliances and Ecosystem at ZoomInfo, delves deep into the company’s partner categories —technology, solutions and sales— highlighting the importance of clear messaging and co-selling in driving successful partner relationships, all steered by thoughtful leadership.We also dis...2024-01-2326 minEcosystem AcesDan Hod: Building Bridges: How Amdocs Collaborates with Hyperscalers to Deliver Customer ValueIn the ecosystem world, being forward thinking is crucial — if you are building partnerships when you need them, and not when you anticipate the needs of your customers and the trends of the market, you won’t be on the cutting edge. In this episode, we are joined by Dan Hod, VP, Global Cloud Partnerships and Business Development at Amdocs, as he talks through his long-time journey in the tech industry, leveraging a clear long-term vision to build synergistic partnerships that deliver customer value. Dan also shares how Amdocs is shifting from vendor-specific to open source technology and thus...2023-11-2827 minEcosystem AcesAmit Sinha Roy: How Tata Communications Co-Innovates with Partners for Customer ValueCompetition is an inherent trait of all industries' marketplaces. However, when strong partnerships are built, collaboration allows business leaders to address customers' specific needs more efficiently, whether it is by multi-dimensional engagements or single product-based solutions.In today’s episode, Amit Sinha Roy, VP Global Head of Strategic Alliances at Tata Communications, dives deeper into managing multiple-scale alliances through joint service creation, prioritizing collaboration over competition, and driving business success with differentiated market solutions. Amit also emphasizes the importance of framing the term "strategic alliances" with a programmatic, long-term approach, with investment from both parties of the partnership. 2023-11-1430 minEcosystem AcesMadhuri Chawla: How Kyndryl and SAP Co-Innovate to Deliver Value to CustomersToday more than ever, digital transformation is necessary to optimize process and system efficiency to keep up with fast moving changes in the market. Achieving this with partner ecosystems is the best solution to advance quickly and deliver value to customers.Today’s guest, Madhuri Chawla, Vice President, Global Head of SAP Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem at Kyndryl, a company that spun off from IBM with 90,000 employees and a roster of 4,000 customers, shares insights on how she’s been leading the digital transformation co-creating and co-innovating through partner ecosystems. Madhuri delves into Kyndryl’s strategic partnership with SAP, the develo...2023-10-1733 minEcosystem AcesSusan Tommy: Driving Seamless Integration and Value for Microsoft Users with VenaA great foundation in ecosystems and alliances can supercharge your growth and create cohesion across a broad range of functional areas. Without this alignment, organizations can struggle to thrive.In this episode, we speak with Susan Tommy, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Vena Solutions, a self-proclaimed generalist and ultimate partnerships expert. Susan shares her unique journey into integrations and how service partners help deliver ultimate value to customers.Join us as we discuss:The whirlwind of change across integrations over the last decadeRole of Vena’s service partners in delivering value to customersHow to maintain al...2023-07-2531 minEcosystem AcesDana Vickey: Partnering for Success: How Eightfold’s Ecosystem Drives Innovation and GrowthBuilding solutions to bring to market in a partnership requires a solid integration strategy. Where you want to go and the best way to get there relies on one simple question: what value can you and your partner bring to clients?We speak with Dana Vickey, Global Vice-President, Alliances and Partners at Eightfold.ai about successful partnerships and product road mapping. At the end of the day, the journey is about making the client or customer successful — to do that, you must aggregate data and customer insights to design a successful strategy.Join us as we di...2023-07-1129 minEcosystem AcesMonica Aggarwal: The Power of Partnerships in ISV EcosystemsWhen you look at the ISV ecosystem, it's all about working with partners like ISVs, MSPs and MSSPs. Our guest today refers to this relationship building and management as build motion — it's all about helping partners embed software into their commercial solutions to take to market successfully. In this episode, we’re joined by Monica Aggarwal, Vice President of ISV Build Ecosystem, Technology & Software OEM Partnerships at IBM, who is an expert in all aspects of partner build motion. Monica and her team are responsible for all build partnerships with independent software vendors (ISVs) large and small as well as t...2023-06-2729 minEcosystem AcesDana Vickey: Partnering for Success: How Eightfold’s Ecosystem Drives Innovation and GrowthBuilding solutions to bring to market in a partnership requires a solid integration strategy. Where you want to go and the best way to get there relies on one simple question: what value can you and your partner bring to clients?We speak with Dana Vickey, Global Vice-President, Alliances and Partners at Eightfold.ai about successful partnerships and product road mapping. At the end of the day, the journey is about making the client or customer successful — to do that, you must aggregate data and customer insights to design a successful strategy.Join us as we di...2023-06-2729 minEcosystem AcesNeeti Gupta: VMware's Winning Formula to Maximize Co-Selling with MicrosoftWhen you bring a solution to market with another company, you have the potential to shape relationships that will compound benefits far beyond the initial product and subsequent customer value. But co-selling isn’t always straightforward, especially when you’re working with large companies and market leaders. Our guest Neeti Gupta, Head of Hyperscaler Business Development and Alliances at VMware, has had intensive experience in co-selling, working with some of the world’s most influential modern companies from Meta to Microsoft. She shares how you can foster relationships at all stages of co-selling to secure long-term, overall success.2023-06-1338 minEcosystem AcesManish Harsh: How Nvidia Collaborates with ISV Partners to Build Valuable Customer SolutionsLeaps in innovation in AI and a dramatic shift towards cloud and digital have propelled a community-centered approach in partnerships and business ecosystems. While relationships were once somewhat limited geographically or to those within immediate circles, the world of modern business and tech has exploded with opportunities.On this episode, we’re joined by ecosystem expert Manish Harsh, MLOps Partner Ecosystem & Tech Integrations at NVIDIA. With a knack for enabling businesses to build genuine relationships and partnerships, Manish shares the ins and outs of building a successful ecosystem with all the right tools to push your business forward.2023-05-3031 minEcosystem AcesKim Sterkendries: Understanding and Addressing Partner Needs: A Key Ingredient to Customer SuccessPartnering with the right organizations can set you up for success, but only if both parties are in alignment. In a great partnership, both partners receive the benefits of genuine value from one another.On this episode, we’re joined by Kim Sterkendries, Global Strategic Partner Ecosystem Enablement - Commercial Client Division at Intel Corporation. With a long career in assorted go-to-market roles at Intel, Kim works with various partners to ensure they are ready to enter the market, both internally and in regards to partners. He’s discovered the importance of integrating education and communication on both...2023-05-1632 minEcosystem AcesJoseph Landes: The Evolution of Cloud MSPs and the Future of the IndustryManaged Service Providers (MSPs) are changing. Worldwide, MSPs are modernizing and becoming increasingly interwoven with the cloud — and bringing their customers on the journey.In this episode, I’m speaking with Joseph Landes, Chief Revenue Officer at Nerdio, about all the ways he’s helping MSPs modernize.Join us as we discuss:The evolution of MSPs in the era of modern partneringHow Nerdio is managing its more than a thousand MSP partnersJoseph’s advice for partner managers Here are some additional episodes featuring other ecosystem leaders that might interest you:#164 Jason Eichenholz: How Wipro Accelerated Revenue Growth w...2023-05-0229 minEcosystem AcesDoug Smith: Creating Value Through PartnershipsCustomers don’t want to simply buy products, Cloud, or ERP. They want to solve their problems in the least complicated way possible and trust the company they're working with. For that to happen, intentional partnerships and value-based initiatives are essential. On this episode, we’re joined by Doug Smith, Senior Vice President, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Global Partner Ecosystem at Oracle. With his passion for building partnerships and solving customer pain points, Doug knows the name of the game regarding solution-focused systems and what that looks like at the ground level. He drives company wide value to e...2023-04-1831 minEcosystem AcesDarren Blue: How Intel Builds Joint Solutions for IoT and Industry 4.0Partner organizations can be the key to genuinely succeeding in today’s market. But partnerships have to be carefully integrated with well-thought-out strategies and communications. On this episode, we’re joined by Darren Blue, Director of Industrial Internet of Things Strategy at Intel Corporation. With over 25 years at Intel with experience from all things engineering to business, Darren knows what it takes to build partnerships that enable ecosystems to actually flourish. He offers insight into the complexities of partnerships and working with other top manufacturers to take concepts and shape them into real, viable market-ready solutions.Join...2023-04-0434 minEcosystem AcesMarc Monday: Delivering Customer Value Through PartnershipsYour customers want everything to just work. No hassle. No fuss. Just simplicity.Yet, delivering simplicity in the customer experience takes learning to manage a whole host of complexity behind the scenes your customer never sees. In this episode, we’re speaking with Marc Monday, Vice President, Global Strategic Partnerships at Sage, about the best ways to manage — and reasons to introduce more — complexities in your partnership program. Join us as we discuss:The importance of understanding your customers’ needs to meet them where they areHow to deliver value as quickly as possible to your customer...2023-03-2132 minEcosystem AcesKaushal Vora: Building Your Ecosystem to Create Business ValueIt’s difficult to overstate the importance of a holistic ecosystem of partners in the IoT industry. That might be particularly true in highly constrained environments where devices are dedicated to a specific task as intelligence changes in a growing ecosystem.Kaushal Vora, Sr. Director, Head of Business Acceleration & Ecosystem at Renesas Electronics, joins Chip to talk about what it takes to go from go-to-market strategy to the business development organization that helps salespeople sell. Kaushal comes from a team whose journey started three years ago with 20 partners and now has over 200 partners. He’s here to h...2023-03-0733 minEcosystem AcesAdnan Khaleel: Building Next-Gen Customer Solutions with PartnersReady to learn the tricks and tips of partnering with ISVs, OEMs, and even other tech companies to create innovative solutions and services?Adnan Khaleel, Sr Director, Technology & Business Strategy at Intel Corporation, is here to give his take from his experiences at Dell and Intel on ISVs and OEMs to create services and solutions in various industries. We’ll also talk about a clear roadmap for cloud providers, new markets and technologies such as AI and quantum computing, and balancing the needs of multiple partners. And lastly, what does the process of investing in that new technology look li...2023-02-0731 minEcosystem AcesKeith Peckman: Ecosystem Partnership in the Financial IndustryWhat does healthy growth and success of a company's security and compliance business look like?Keith Peckman, Director-Security Sales and Compliance, Financial Services at Microsoft, explains how he helped his team go from $200 million total revenue focused on security management to a $5 billion business and a global business of $17 billion. He also talks more specifically about his role at Microsoft, which includes leading a team of security specialists who support some of the largest US-based strategic insurers, as well as a team of compliance field engineers who support all financial services in the US. Keith talks about the...2023-01-2431 minEcosystem AcesJason Eichenholz: How Wipro Accelerated Revenue Growth with Their EcosystemHow can a focus on partner ecosystems be a major driver of a company's growth, and how is this approach different from traditional alliances? Jason Eichenholz, SVP, Global Head - Ecosystems & Partnerships at Wipro, explains how partnerships involve multiple parties working together to solve complex business problems and emphasizes the importance of trust in these partnerships. Jason shares how Wipro measures the impact of partnering and his own thoughts on the future of technology. Join us as we discuss:How Wipro revenue growth has exploded with ecosystem motionsWhy Wipro's approach to the market with partners is uniqueWhat to...2023-01-1031 minEcosystem AcesSonal Uban: Leading Cybersecurity with Open EcosystemThey’re one of the largest ecosystems around: 300+ partners, 500+ integrations, and they’re still customer first? You bet they are.Sonal Uban, Director of Marketing, Global Technology Alliances at Fortinet, says the way you keep a machine like that going is you start with the customer pain points, and then work backwards. According to Sonal, that means putting the effort into the longterm strategies for customers and then thinking about the number of ways to integrate their product into the process. Being the trusted advisor means you’re co-innovating together and you’re co-jointly going to market.Joi...2023-01-0334 minEcosystem AcesManoj Bhatia: Partnerships in the Conversational Engagement EraHow do you make a meaningful conversation happen with a customer? It’s certainly not enough to wait for inbound customers to just happen. You’re going to have to go outbound. Manoj Bhatia, Vice President of Channel Sales at Acqueon, says the best way to do that is by getting good data from an impeccable customer experience that can be used to effectively communicate to that customer’s needs. Through Acqueon’s recognition, trust, and partnership with Cisco and the ISV marketplace, the solutions, and co-selling opportunities will be the right fit for the customer. Join us...2022-12-1334 minEcosystem AcesGeorge Drapeau: Partnering in an Open Source WorldEverybody is selling something, so what’s the best way to stand out? Have you tried giving it away for free? That’s the business model that’s been so successful for George Drapeau, Senior Director, Global Partner Solutions & Technology, and his team at Red Hat. George’s team builds lasting success and relationships with clients by doing the unthinkable: listening to the community first. They start by asking clients what they’re missing, and the end by providing them a world-class service built upon quality partnerships. Join us as we discuss:Providing value and capabilities through relationship...2022-11-2932 minEcosystem AcesDavid La Rose: Strengthening Partner Commitment in the Ecosystem EraLast year, IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna made a bold commitment to invest over $1 billion in the IBM partner ecosystem. Since that time, the IBM ecosystem team has been rolling out a number of initiatives to make good on that promise.David La Rose, General Manager - IBM Partner Ecosystem, Sales at IBM, shares the inside view as he and his team are transforming partnering at IBM. With nearly 55,000 partners, the company is fully committed to its ecosystem by partnering with more global resellers, system integrators, ISVs, MSPs, and others.IBM has been doubling the number of partner-facing re...2022-11-1529 minEcosystem AcesLiz Fuller: Amplify Your Marketing with PartnersYou catch more bees with honey, or so they say. If your approach to partnerships is going down your list of needs and wants as you head into the meeting, you’re doing it all wrong. Your offer to an existing partner, or even a potential one, needs to be rooted in what that organization needs first. And according to today’s guest, Liz Fuller (a podcaster herself!), Vice President & General Manager of Global Marketing at Zones, that needs to be rooted in the solution to your partner’s solution. Join us as we discuss:Why a venn dia...2022-11-0126 minEcosystem AcesAlec Saunders: Ecosystems in the Age of SustainabilityIs driving your company’s sustainability plan a challenge or an opportunity?The answer you choose will say a lot about how your company will fare in the coming years as both industry and government make the switch, a switch by the way, that is definitely coming. Alec Saunders, Worldwide Sustainability Partner Strategy Leader at Microsoft, joins the show to discuss the vast amount of opportunity coming to sustainable partner ecosystems, who will benefit the most, and how partnerships can best leverage themselves for the coming changes.Join us as we discuss:What role will IS...2022-10-1833 minEcosystem AcesCarola Cazenave: Build the Best Partnership StrategyStop creating partner-first strategies!What??? It’s the reason we do what we do, right?Wrong. Your client is the reason you do what you do. Your partnerships need to originate with the client wants first if you want your program to have measurable success. Then, focus on your partners. It sounds simple enough, but Carola Cazenave, Business Angel, Business Advisor, Board Member, and most recently Vice President Global BP Ecosystem, Pegasystems, says it’s not what a lot of companies are doing.Join us as we discuss: Bringing in partners at all level...2022-10-0433 minEcosystem AcesAsher Mathew: How Data Can Transform PartnershipsDo you ever have that feeling that the data is just… lacking? It’s really not going to be possible to effectively serve all partners if the data just doesn’t serve the end goals. Part of that journey is transforming go to market by providing a robust 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data plan. The best way to do that is ending the one size fits all product, and asking the simple question: how can this product serve your workflow, not ours? Join us as we discuss:The role of community in go to marketWhat goo...2022-09-2032 minEcosystem AcesMike Stocker: Close 40% More Deals with Partner InfluenceYou can’t be everywhere all at once. But your partnership network can.A good ecosystem will not only increase your sphere of influence and knowledge, but will be cheaper, increase sales conversions, and extend retention rates. That’s why hearing what Mike Stocker, VP, Partnerships, RollWorks at NextRoll, Inc., has to say is important.Join us as we discuss:Delivering customer value with integrated partner solutionsReal world examples of partner co-selling driving more revenueHow partner influence delivers tangible and measurable resultsHere are some additional episodes feat...2022-09-0637 minEcosystem AcesLibby Greco: Get Out There and Break GlassSometimes you just gotta break some glass. That’s just a sign that you’re moving fast. For large, prolific companies, the ability to continually grow is predicated on the ability to continually innovate. If you don’t do this, the company will stagnate. That goes for partnerships in the public sphere as well. Libby Greco, Vice President, Alliances at Salesforce, talks about her many years of experience in keeping focused on the bigger picture, even as the times and arena she’s played in, have changed. Join us as we discuss:Co-sellingISV joint solutionsappEx...2022-08-1636 minEcosystem AcesRichard Wrbanek: Start at the TopThe easiest way to know whether a partnership is good is to make sure everybody gets what they want. Sounds simple enough but the most promising thing any partners can do to be successful is having collaboration early on where stakeholders can be transparent about what works for them and what doesn’t. A great side effect of that is building and maintaining relationships for years to come. Richard Wrbanek, Vice President, Strategic Partners & Alliances, Americas at OpenText, is here to discuss his perspective on what’s made all the difference to strong partnerships. Join us as we discus...2022-08-0230 minEcosystem AcesSuresh Kumar Tulluri: Is Your Roadmap Futureproof?In order for the ecosystem to function at its best it needs to include not one, but multiple partners. The best way to do that is to work with partners who are willing to share the risk, innovate, and stay flexible for future technologies. Suresh Kumar Tulluri, Vice President & Global Head - Ecosystem Business Unit at HCL Technologies, talks in this episode about how to bring the customer along for that journey and the need to stay prepared to move not only forward, but occasionally sideways as well. Join us as we discuss:Roadmap innovationInvesting in...2022-07-1932 minEcosystem AcesAkhil Kapoor: Does Your Ecosystem Make You Indispensable?Creating demand for your product is more than just selling a product. You want customers to be the biggest advocates of your product. Having the right integration and partnerships at every level not only create a reliable service, but create fans who will take your products and run with them themselves. Listen in as Akhil Kapoor, Vice President of Technology and Cloud Partnerships at New Relic, Inc. discusses his team’s tried and true strategies for building the perfect ecosystem that will have customers coming back for more. Join us as we discuss:HyperscalersWhat it take...2022-07-0532 minEcosystem AcesMichael Bruchey: Managing a Global Partner OrganizationThe customer doesn’t just want to buy something. They want it to work. Traditional GSP transactions tend to focus too much on revenue, and not enough about integrating partners from all over so that the customer isn’t just buying something, but also using it. In this episode, Michael Bruchey, Global VP Partner Solutions at SAP, shares his insights on making happier customers who are more likely to renew services and expand to other products as well. Join us as we discuss:Partner solutions that work globally and locally Getting your customers excited about GSP2022-06-2135 minEcosystem AcesGlen Straub: Unlimited Partnerships for Success in BusinessPartnerships drive solutions. If you have a goal to be everywhere, your business can get there by developing and nurturing real-world, end-to-end partnerships. Today’s guest, Glen Straub, VP of Business Development at Foursquare, has scaled 550 different partnerships across data, products, sales, distribution, and markets. Join us as we discuss:What to look for when you need a partner to go to market withHow to build an ecosystem of partnership culture in a companyThe value of partnerships forged and seasoned over time Here are some additional episodes featuring other ecosystem lea...2022-06-0739 min
The Workspan PodcastA Guided Tour of Workspan’s Wellbeing Issue with Managing Editor Mark McGrawMark McGraw, managing editor of both Workspan and #evolve, joins us to discuss the Q2 Workspan, which focuses on wellbeing. Features include “Family Time, which addresses parental leave and “Do Not Disturb,” which looks at how some companies are expanding their PTO offerings to help workers refresh and recharge. 2022-05-2722 minEcosystem AcesAllan Adler: The Era of the EcosystemEcosystem should be part of your product’s DNA… If you build ecosystem into your product roadmap, your product becomes a snowball rolling down a hill, picking up momentum and benefiting every corner of your organization. As more companies take note of the exponential, transformative power of ecosystems, today’s guest, Allan Adler, Managing Partner at Digital Bridge Partners, contends that we’ve moved on from the decade of ecosystem to the era of ecosystem. Join us as we discuss:Why ecosystem needs to be part of the DNA of your productThe snowball effect an ecosystem...2022-05-2432 minEcosystem AcesHenry Wagner: Partnering w/ the Right Technology Provider: Why One Solution is Rarely EnoughThree different customers will each innovate in their own way. Within those three scenarios — Each will innovate with varying amounts of technology from SAP, Google, or a third party. Because of this, refusing to partner could limit the customers opportunities, and therefore, your own profit. Today’s guest is Henry Wagner, SVP, Google Practice at Lemongrass, who joins the show to explain the link between SAP and other technologies. Join us as we discuss:Linking SAP & Google together to bring transformation to customersRecognizing technology patterns w/ acceleration in mindCreating industry-based joint solutions 2022-05-0336 minEcosystem AcesTony Zirnoon: The Partnership Trust Building Zero-Trust SecurityIn a world where a $200 billion cybersecurity economy is dwarfed by a $6 trillion dollar hacker economy, Zero Trust is a vitally important framework for staying safe online. But it takes a lot of trust to build Zero Trust — because it’s partnerships leading the charge in the cybersecurity industry. Today’s guest is Tony Zirnoon, Head of Strategic Alliances at Appgate, who joins the show to discuss how he’s building trust with partners to deliver Zero Trust cybersecurity for customers. Join us as we discuss:Why Zero Trust matters for cybersecurityHow partners make Zero Trust p...2022-04-1942 minEcosystem AcesAndrew Kim: The Partnership ATM: Always Deposit More than You WithdrawPartnerships are like ATMs. If you want them to be beneficial to you, you need to deposit more than you withdraw. That’s how today’s guest, Andrew Kim, Vice President of Business Development at ShipHawk, has been so successful spearheading the company’s pioneering partnership program. Andrew joins the show to discuss:ShipHawk’s innovative and unconventional approach to partnering Why partner success always comes firstHow ShipHawk approaches co-selling and marketing with partners Here are some additional episodes featuring other ecosystem leaders that might interest you: #121 Aligning Ecosystem Strategy with Your...2022-04-0530 minEcosystem AcesLax Gopisetty: Fostering Partnerships in the Digital WorkspaceThe digital workspace looks a lot different than how workspaces used to operate — Today, ecosystems must coexist with others, each providing capabilities to the overall solution. Think of how Blockbuster operated in comparison to the Netflix of today. Without these partnerships, each enterprise would crumble. And that’s exactly what Lax Gopisetty, Vice President - Business Applications & Digital Work Spaces at Infosys, is here to expand on. In this episode, Lax gives insight into just how important it is to foster these partnerships. Join us as we discuss:What Infosys focuses on & the digital workspaceNurtu...2022-03-2239 minEcosystem AcesJackie Maldonado: How to Grow Building Partnerships w/ HyperscalersWhen you’re a fast-growing startup that wants to start a partnership or alliances organization, how do you get the attention of hyperscalers? You bring them a strategic customer. That’s exactly how Jackie Maldonado, AVP of Strategy - Cloud Alliances at Turing, approached it, and her organization’s subsequent success speaks for itself. In this episode, she talks about the steps they took to architect a thriving partnership organization. Join us as we discuss:How to get the attention of hyperscalersWorking with AWS and Google Cloud on co-selling opportunitiesProviding value through tal...2022-03-0834 minThe Workspan PodcastThe Maiden Workspan Podcast with WorldatWork's Mark McGrawMark McGraw, Managing Editor of both Workspan and #evolve, joins us to kick off the first Workspan Podcast - what was once Work in Progress will now be divided into this and the #evolve podcast, each aligned with its respective namesake publication. Mark gives us a typically lively tour sneak peak of what's in the next several issues of Workspan: spoiler alert, lots of insightful articles on pay equity and DEI. One day you'll remember exactly where you were when you listened to the maiden Workspan pod...check it out! 2022-02-2822 minEcosystem AcesChris Cochran: Nurturing a Successful Hyperscale PartnershipIn an age where everything is moving to the cloud, those who can migrate your data safely and efficiently are vital. And for them, success means having strong partnerships with hyperscalers like Microsoft and AWS. Just ask Chris Cochran, Vice President Cloud Strategy and Alliances at Data Dynamics, where alliances are helping him provide customers with everything they need for a successful migration. Join us as we discuss:How Data Dynamics are making cloud migration easy for customersHow Chris approaches partnering with hyperscalers The importance of customer-centricity Here are some additio...2022-02-2232 minEcosystem AcesJared Fuller: Lessons Learned from Partnering ProsPartnering is all about coming together to create more value than you can by yourself. So, what’s better than a podcast dedicated to collecting the wisdom of the sharpest minds in partnering? Partnering with another podcast with the same mission. That’s why I joined Jared Fuller, Member of the Board of Directors at Cloud Software Association, on his podcast, PartnerUp, to share some of the most important lessons we’ve learned across more than 200 podcast episodes. Join us as we discuss:Why partnerships are having their momentHow partners can be a proxy for...2022-02-1649 minEcosystem AcesAshley Speight: Why Everything Will Soon Be “As a Service”Not too long ago, bespoke products were all the rage. Now, whatever isn’t “as a service,” soon will be. The death of the SKU has arrived. That’s something Ashley Speight, Co-Founder of Channelyze.io, has been thinking about for a long time. He joins the show to discuss what this means for partner ecosystems everywhere. Join us as we discuss:How Channelize is giving visibility across the entire channelThe death of the SKU and what it means for youWhat’s next for Channelize Here are some additional episode...2022-02-0826 minEcosystem AcesBrian Allison: How Partners Help You Handle Your Biggest ChallengesWhether it’s expanding to new markets or tackling crises…Everything is easier with the right partner by your side.Just ask Brian Allison, Vice President of Global Channels and Alliances at Snow Software, whose career has spanned everything from scrappy startups to leviathan corporations — and he has never seen one that couldn’t be improved by the right partners.Join us as we discuss:- How to categorize partners- The 3 C’s of a good partner- The challenges of scaling — and how partners help you overcome them- Why customer success is t...2022-01-2533 minEcosystem AcesAmy Guarino: How to Choose Right-Fit Partners & Overcome ConflictsThere is always going to be inherent conflict in partnerships. After all, you don’t always share the same strategies, objectives or end goals. But according to Amy Guarino, VP Global Alliances at Ironclad and our guest on today’s show, if you can figure out how to overcome those conflicts and find that intersection between what your partner does, what you do, and how that benefits the customer, it can become an incredible competitive advantage. In this episode, we discuss:How Ironclad approaches choosing right-fit partnersHow to find the right strategy for co-sellingWhy co...2022-01-1834 minEcosystem AcesBrinda Robin: From Healthcare to Telecoms, Partners Are Shaping the FutureIf you want true differentiation in the complex industries underpinning today’s world…You can’t go it alone.Today, I’m joined by the team at HARMAN, Brinda Robin, JK Sharma, Prakash Desai, and Keerthi Kumar, to learn how they’re crafting an ecosystem built to shape the future of our most vital industries, from healthcare to communications to manufacturing.Join us as we discuss:How HARMAN’s is building a platform to facilitate a partner-driven futureThe 3 types of ecosystemThe real-world applications for their platform in health, communications and manufacturing Her...2022-01-1154 minEcosystem AcesAllan Adler: Ecosystems & Partners: The True Top of the FunnelYou’ve heard of an MQL — but what about an EQL? In a world where 30% of all trade is slated to go through ecosystems by 2025, the go-to-market exercise can no longer be thought of as simply marketing and sales. Ecosystems are the true top of the funnel — and it’s time we acknowledge it. Today’s guest, Allan Adler, Managing Partner at Digital Bridge Partners, is one of the few out there sounding the alarm on this and other ways the shifting role of ecosystems will shape the coming decade. Join us as we discuss:How ecosystems...2022-01-0439 minEcosystem AcesParul Chheda: How to Successfully Partner with HyperscalersEvery partnership demands a unique approach because every partnership is different… And if you want an alliance to succeed, you need to understand what makes your partnership unique. But you can’t do that unless you know what you’re trying to achieve in the first place. That’s how Parul Chheda, Vice President Strategic Alliances at CoreStack, approaches alliances with hyperscalers — a unique kind of partner with unique needs. Join us as we discuss:Why hyperscalers are an ideal partner for CoreStack and their customersThe unique demands that come with working with hyperscalers2021-12-2834 minEcosystem AcesKieran Krohn: Why Goal Setting Is So Important in PartneringA fruitful partnership, just like any relationship, is a two-way street. Both parties need to benefit from it. That’s why heavily investing in the success of your partners is the best way to ensure a profitable, mutually-beneficial and long-term partnership. Kieran Krohn, Principal Channel Account Manager at Hubspot, lives by this philosophy and it has served him well in his career. With a wealth of knowledge on the topic of partnering, he shares his many insights with us today. In this episode, we discuss:Hubspot's partner ecosystemThe importance of goal setting and investing in pa...2021-12-2130 minEcosystem AcesSatish Shenoy: Start Up, Scale Up, Scale Out: An Ecosystem Growth GuideThe three stages of creating a robust partner ecosystem are start-up, scale-up, and scale-out. A start-up is going after joint accounts, scale-up is opening the door a bit more, and scale-out is really expanding. Which stage are you in? In this episode, we speak with Satish Shenoy, Regional Vice President, Strategic Technology Alliances & Partnerships at Blue Prism, about building a technology partner ecosystem that creates true innovation. In this episode, we discuss:Criteria for creating good sales-in opportunitiesCreative steps for co-selling3 stages for building a partner ecosystem to be proud ofIncentives, mea...2021-12-1428 minEcosystem AcesBen Goodman: Securing the World Safely & Securely Through Partnerships & ScaleHelping people safely and securely access the connected world through the internet is no small feat, but one of the highest importance. To achieve this, it takes the right kind of leadership and the right partners. Ben Goodman, Senior Vice President, Global Business and Corporate Development at ForgeRock, discusses the challenges of aligning partners, scaling, tracking the pipeline, and what’s next for the company. In this episode, we discuss:The current projects at ForgeRock and what’s on the horizonManaging and aligning 130 partnersScaling with intention Here are some additional episodes...2021-12-0730 minEcosystem AcesAlly Murtlow: How to Handle an Ecosystem in Hyper-GrowthHandling a partner ecosystem is a complex undertaking on the best of days. Handling a partner ecosystem as your organization is experiencing hyper-growth adds even more complexity. But the rewards for overcoming the challenges posed by this complexity are well worth the effort. Just ask today’s guest, Ally Murtlow, National Channel Director at Dialpad, a company whose channel team has increased over 400% since the beginning of 2020. In this episode, we discuss:The interplay between rapid growth and alliance ecosystemsWhy everyone in Dialpad’s channel team has to be demo-certifiedHow hiring strategica...2021-11-1629 minEcosystem AcesAndrew Massad: Partnerships: Get All the Right People Rowing in the Right DirectionIn any partnership, both parties need to trust and understand each other — and they both need to have a stake in the outcome. But in an alliance ecosystem, there are often key stakeholders that get neglected, whose buy-in is critical to success. And a partnership will never sail without getting every stakeholder on board. Andrew Massad, Vice President, Alliances & Corporate Development at Leanplum In this episode, we discuss:Why partnerships require every stakeholder’s involvementWhy it’s not what your partners can do for you, but what you can do for themHow to take...2021-11-0236 min
The Workspan PodcastIt’s Only Total Rewards…But We Like ItMark McGraw, managing editor of both Workspan and #evolve, and WorldatWork’s resident Stones fan (short for fanatic), gives us a sneak preview of Workspan’s Global Advisory issue (out this November) and the challenges facing comp and rewards leaders around the world: companies across Latin America developing female talent, the effect of employee recognition on employee engagement in Asia, initiatives companies in India have put in place since the pandemic that enable women to rejoin the workforce, etc. Plus a bonus chat on the modern scourge of self-proclaimed “influencers.” 2021-10-2623 minEcosystem AcesMark Birgman: If You Can Execute Partnering, You Can Execute AnythingWhen it comes to alliances, it used to be the case that many were waiting on the technology to catch up.Now, we’re waiting for people to catch up to the technology — which means leadership needs to craft partner-centric cultures that align with these advancements.But it’s worth the effort — because a core competency in partnering is a core competency in anything.So says Mark Birgman, Author, Sp eaker & CEO at PARTNERNOMICS , who joins the show today to share the many insights he gained from a long career in partnering that spans heading...2021-10-1932 minEcosystem AcesLisa Conway: How Telos Launched a Whole New Business with Help from PartnershipsThere are lots of different ways to inject new life into a company.One of the best is implementing a partner program.The right partners can make a 50-year-old company feel like a startup.At least, that’s what happened for today’s guest, Lisa Conway, VP of Sales Operations and Strategic alliances at Telos, where her partner program and a recent IPO has reinvigorated the company after a half-century in business.In this episode, we discuss:How and why Telos have integrated with AWS and AzureWhy package solut...2021-10-0537 minEcosystem AcesVince Menzione: How to Build Trust into Your Strategic PartnershipsEvery business is transforming. Every company is becoming a tech company. 75% of CEOs say their businesses will be unrecognizable in 5 years.In this landscape, you can’t do it all yourself. You know you can’t survive without partnerships.But without trust, you don’t have a partnership — you have a transaction.This is one of the key insights today’s guest, Vince Menzione, Founder at Ultimate Partnerships, stresses to all of the clients who go to him for his partnering expertise. He joins the show to explain why trust is ultimately the foundation for any bu...2021-09-2833 minEcosystem AcesBogdan Petrescu: How Partners Make Scaling SimpleSometimes, the best strategic alliances come from inherent partners — those who are already a key part of your business strategy.But just because these partners are the easiest to identify doesn’t mean you have to stop there.Just ask my latest guest, Bogdan Petrescu, Director of Strategic Alliances at Nylas, a company with a business model that ensures plenty of organic partnerships. Bogdan isn’t content to stop there, though — he draws upon many diverse partners to drive pipeline, scalability and, ultimately, revenue.In this episode, we discuss:The role of strate...2021-09-1630 minEcosystem AcesGreg Fox: Building a Best-of-Breed of Partner ProgramAfter building successful partner programs at Cisco, Citrix, and Huawei, today Greg is creating Reliant’s ecosystem strategy to co-build, co-innovate, and co-sell optimal edge computing solutions.In this episode, Greg Fox, Director of Business Development & Strategic Alliances at Reliant, joins Ecosystem Aces and discusses how he builds a best-of-breed partner program.Greg shares:How Reliant creates their ecosystem strategyHow Reliant finds the right partnersHis advice and best practices for partner leadersHere are some additional episodes featuring other ecosystem leaders that might interest you:#121 Aligning Ec...2021-08-2639 minEcosystem AcesAsh Vijayakanthan: Single Products Are Out: We’re in a World of Solutions NowOnce, you could get by with a single product, but that’s no longer the case. We no longer live in a world where we can simply sell products — it’s all about the solution. Which means partners are more important than ever.That insight is one of the keys to Ash Vijayakanthan’s success as Vice President at Trifacta, where he’s leading strategic partnerships with big names like Google, Infosys, Accenture, and Deloitte.In this episode, we discuss:-How living in a world of solutions impacts partner ecosystems-How Ash is improving the ecosys...2021-07-0829 minEcosystem AcesJack Norris: Partnerships in the New Ecosystem EconomyThe business environment is changing rapidly — how can companies not only survive but thrive through this epic shift?An expert in strategic alliances and data-driven marketing, Jack Norris is a Senior Vice President at Alteryx and this episode’s fascinating guest. Norris strongly advocates embracing a digital transformation and building lucrative partnerships through data science. In this episode, Norris introduces these illuminating concepts:- How Alteryx leverages its platform to help partners develop IP- How Alteryx works with partners to deliver an optimal and holistic experience for digital transformations- How...2021-06-2231 minEcosystem AcesWayne Monk: Growing Revenue with High-Value-Added PartnersHow do you take a near non-existent partner program and grow it to driving over 45% of total revenue for the company? Today’s guest Wayne Monk, Senior Vice President, Global Alliances and Channel Sales at ASG, managed to do just that by staying focused on adding value to the business and the partner capabilities that differentiate them.In this episode, we discuss:- How to make your partner program a value-add to your business- Why partner differentiation is the key to growing your ecosystem- How to identify the innovation th...2021-06-0830 minEcosystem AcesNicole Napiltonia: There’s No Easy Button for PartneringWhen it comes to managing alliances, there’s no easy button. Instead, it takes discipline on the execution… And skin in the game for both sides.So says my guest, Nicole Napiltonia, VP of Alliances and OEM Sales at Barracuda, who joins me in today’s episode to discuss how Barracuda are managing partners across the Big Three cloud providers: AWS, Google and Microsoft Azure.We discuss:- How Barracuda is leveraging their early entry into the cloud- The increasing complexity of managing partners- Barr...2021-05-2526 minEcosystem AcesLara Caimi: Where Customer & Partner Experience IntersectWe often talk about putting the customer at the center of everything we do — it’s an ironclad rule if you want success. And it’s just as important to your alliance ecosystem.Just ask Lara Caimi who, as Chief Customer and Partner Officer at ServiceNow, is thriving in a career at the intersection of customer and partner experiences.In today’s episode, we discuss:- How customer, employee and partner experiences interact- The importance of co-selling and co-delivering- Why diversity and inclusion matter f...2021-05-1130 minEcosystem AcesErik Heinrich: Managing Partners Means Knowing Every Part of the BusinessIf you want to successfully manage strategic partnerships, you need to become an expert in every role needed to bring a joint solution to market that your partners can actually sell.In this episode, I sit down with Erik Heinrich to learn how he brings his wealth of experience across different roles in his career to his current position as Director Business Development, RUCKUS Networks at CommScope, where he manages strategic partnerships with Facebook, Intel, and other global partners. What we talked about:- Why solving your customers’ problems is the key to...2021-04-1327 minEcosystem AcesSusan Flake and Colin Goodwin: Partnerships at the Edge: How Zebra’s Helping Frontline WorkersMost people trust that the food they buy from stores and restaurants will be safe. Yet, foodborne illnesses occur more often than you might think.Advancements in technology can drastically reduce contamination risks.But only when supported by a robust ecosystem. In this episode, I’m joined by two guests who are building that ecosystem: Susan Flake, Director of RFID Business Development, and Colin Goodwin, ISV Business Development Manager at Zebra Technologies, a company working to support frontline workers across multiple industries. We discuss:- Zebra’s mi...2021-03-3032 minEcosystem AcesRay Octaviano: How to Build an Ecosystem Enabling Digital TransformationBeing at the forefront of new technologies and driving digital transformation often requires an ecosystem to fill in the gaps in your capabilities in order to give your customers the very best solutions for their needs. That’s how Ray Octaviano, Vice President and Head of Business Development for North American Mobile Operators at IDEMIA, is tackling the company’s push to seamlessly digitally transform the SIM cards and identification in your pocket right now. What we talked about:The digital transformation underway with SIM cards and identificationHow IDEMIA is building an e...2021-03-2328 minEcosystem AcesGlenton Davis: How COVID Is Shaping the Future of AlliancesThe pandemic has changed so much about our daily lives, so it should be no surprise that partnerships have been impacted, too. There are many challenges to overcome, but there are also opportunities for alliances.In this episode, I’m joined by Glenton Davis, Global Senior Business Development & Strategy Manager, Business Applications at Microsoft, to learn more about what those opportunities are.We discuss:- The opportunities and challenges for partnerships presented by COVID- Why “bottom up” thinking is increasingly important- Why scenarios are as important as unders...2021-02-1636 minEcosystem AcesManoj Bhatia: Why More Companies Than Ever Understand the Value of AlliancesAs the tools and framework for managing alliances grow more sophisticated, more companies are realizing the power of partnerships — and they expect more from the relationship. It’s a welcome trend for Manoj Bhatia, Director Partner Business Development at Verizon, where he is seeing increased willingness to form alliances — along with larger and stronger ecosystems. He joined me on today’s show to discuss:- Why organizations expect more from their alliances (and larger ecosystems)- Why “coopetition” is growing in acceptance- The value of agility and CoSellTo contact t...2021-02-0238 minEcosystem AcesSarita Janjani: How Brillio Builds and Delivers Industry-Optimized Solutions with Hyperscale PartnersMany cloud providers have funds available for their partners to drive migrations.And one of the best ways to maximize these funds? Making sure they build relationships with your customers. That’s how Sarita Janjani, Worldwide Strategic Alliances Portfolio at Brillio, is making the most of the funds she’s received through her AWS relationship. In this episode, Sarita joins me to discuss:- The work she’s doing with partners at Brillio- Why she’s so focused on competencies- Why cost, ROI, and applicability are the...2021-01-0731 minEcosystem AcesParul Patel: Digital Innovation, Disruption, & Customer LoveThe meaning of partnership has changed over the course of this year. Without trust, empathy, and the right perspective about a problem, we aren’t going to be able to cooperate, much less innovate to make a difference in the world.In this episode, I interview Parul Patel, Managing Director, Customer Love at Slalom, about partnership trends and wins this year.Parul talked with me about:Working with partners to build innovative solutions for customersThe new meaning of business transformationHow a multi-way partnership is helping women access fertility treatment around the USHo...2020-12-0123 minEcosystem AcesDan Gallivan: How to Tackle the Challenge of Managing Global AlliancesManaging a global alliance program presents new sets of challenges. You need enough structure to keep everything running smoothly while still offering partners enough flexibility to accommodate their unique needs. To succeed, your operating model needs to be “globally defined, regionally aligned.” In fact, that’s the mantra at ServiceNow, where our latest guest, Dan Gallivan, is Vice President, ISV and Technology Alliances — Global Alliances & Channel Ecosystem. In this episode, we discuss: - The 2 foundational components of every successful partner program - How to overcome regional and cultural barriers when partnering int...2020-11-1729 minEcosystem AcesAbhay Kumar: Why Ecosystem Success Leads To Customer SuccessYour ability to build solutions together with partners determines your ability to deliver on customer success. Because a healthy ecosystem with win-win partnerships drives value to customers, as well as your business. In this episode, Abhay Kumar, Senior Vice President, Global Business Development and Ecosystem at SAP, explains SAP’s approach to a holistic ecosystem. Abhay also explains: - How partners use the SAP cloud platform to build solutions. - How partner ecosystems offer competitive advantages to customers. - How to build scalability and resilience into software. To contact the host...2020-11-0925 minEcosystem AcesPJ Bishop: Why Ecosystem Success Is Measured by More than SalesWhen you want to test the health of your ecosystem… You need to look at more than sales. In this episode, PJ Bishop, Vice President of Partners, Accountants and Alliances: Africa and Middle East at Sage, explains why Sage is reengineering the entire way they measure ecosystem success. PJ explains: - How to reengineer a partner program to prioritize more than sales - How Sage is sourcing skills from local universities - The benefits of operating a global business in Africa To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ide...2020-09-2226 minEcosystem AcesMeg Brennan: How Sharing Data Drives Partner SuccessHow do your partners measure up? Whether you’re measuring every one or just your largest… The more of the data you can share with your partners, the more successful they will be. It’s something Meg Brennan learned as Sr Director of Global Channel Operations at Riverbed Technology, where the dashboards she shared drove successful behavior for partners. In this episode, we discuss: - How data drives behavior - How to keep track of what’s happening partners, their leaders and their managers - How to streamline the approval proce...2020-09-0822 minEcosystem AcesRob Sparno: How Innovation Is Shaping the Future of the EcosystemThe ecosystem has changed a lot over the past 30 years. The democratization of technology has allowed for IP creation at scale and demands continuous enablement. It’s all about bringing the right solutions to the customers and innovating with partners. In this episode, I’m speaking with someone who has been a vital part of that change: Rob Sparno, Head of Strategic Alliance - North America at Sage. Rob has had a long and illustrious career in many partnering areas, including Salesforce, Oracle and Microsoft and is truly a champion of the ecosystem. ...2020-08-1131 minEcosystem AcesLeslie Shannon: Sometimes, the Threat Comes from Outside Your IndustryEveryone knows to keep an eye on their competitors... But how many of us are on the lookout for threats outside our industry? Our guest today is Leslie Shannon, Head of Ecosystem and Trend Scouting at Nokia, a company that knows all too well what happens when you ignore these threats. And now Leslie is heading up the team making sure it can never happen again. In today’s episode, Leslie covers: - Why you need to look outside your industry for threats and opportunities - How 5G is set to change the w...2020-06-3023 minEcosystem AcesShivkumar Subramaniam: The Move to the Cloud Will Happen Even Faster than ExpectedIt’s inevitable that most companies will move to the cloud. But COVID-19, government adoption and other worldwide events have conspired to ensure that transition will come faster than anyone predicted. And alliance ecosystems are going to play a pivotal role. To explain why, I spoke with Shivkumar Subramaniam, former Vice President and Geography Head at Mindtree. Shiv went over: - How COVID-19 is fast-tracking cloud migration - The challenges worldwide to cloud migration - Why government adoption is the biggest driver of cloud migration To contact the host, Ch...2020-06-1630 minEcosystem AcesDavid Totten: The Secrets to Managing Alliances Like MicrosoftIf you want to learn the best ways to do something, you need to turn to the experts. You need to turn to the people and organizations with the kind of wisdom that can only be gained through years of experience. So, when it comes to managing partnerships, you turn to Microsoft. That’s why I am so happy I got a chance to sit down with David Totten, Chief Technology Officer, US Partner Ecosystem at Microsoft in our latest episode. David’s experience managing partners in the leading organization in the space makes him th...2020-06-0230 minEcosystem AcesJames Gordon: Security, Innovation & Inclusion Still Matter in the COVID-19 EraThe COVID-19 crisis has changed things for everybody. The race for innovations to guide us through to safety includes everyone. Interestingly, security, innovation, and inclusion are also key elements of any successful alliance program. On our show today, I spoke with James Gordon, GM of Ecosystem Strategy & Business Development at Intel, to discuss how these very topics guide Intel’s work in their partner ecosystem. We covered: - How to keep your ecosystem secure - What COVID-19 means for innovation - Why inclusion should be a top priority, both inside...2020-05-1928 minEcosystem AcesVinodh Raghunathan: The Current Crisis May Shape the Future of AlliancesWe call it social distancing, but that’s a misnomer. It should be physical distancing. In reality, we’re using every digital tool available to make sure the social world keeps going strong. And these same tools are poised to shape the future of alliance ecosystems. Though he’s recently moved into a new role, my guest today, Vinodh Raghunathan, PhD, spent over 3 years as Director of Global Strategic Partners Operations at Intel, where he successfully oversaw a sprawling alliance program with a rich diversity of partners. He came on the podcast today to explain how...2020-05-0524 minEcosystem AcesPreseetha Pettigrew: Better Alignment through Partner EngagementThe best alliances rest on a foundation of successful alignment, but building it can be difficult if you spread yourself too thin. So, freeing up resources by concentrating on fewer, higher-impact partnerships can be a rewarding strategy. And having a framework for the full lifecycle of customer engagement keeps you on track, aligned, and able to scale. My guest today is Preseetha Pettigrew, Global VP Strategic Alliances at Seismic, where she has done tremendous work incorporating these elements into an incredibly successful alliance program. Preseetha explains exactly how she was able to do more with...2020-04-2819 minEcosystem AcesChristine Puccio: How Christine Puccio Brings Her Alliance Experience to the CloudOver the years, managing alliances has evolved. But many of the key insights from older models sill bear fruit when it comes to today’s cloud-based alliance programs. Our guest today, Christine Puccio, VP of Global Cloud Alliances at F5 Networks, has had tremendous success in her 20+ years of experience managing partner programs. And Christine shares some of her most valuable insights with us on our latest episode. Christine covers: - How her experiences gave her a de facto MBA in working with alliance partners - How public APIs are making delivering jo...2020-04-2119 minEcosystem AcesWinnie Zeliger: Why You Should Focus on Partner DeliveryIt’s no secret successful partner delivery is a vital part of any thriving ecosystem. So, it’s imperative to make sure your partners are trained and capable to deliver quality total solutions to your joint customers. And when your company derives 90% of your business from partners, partner delivery is your lifeblood. Our guest today is Winnie Zeliger, Partner Delivery Executive at Cisco, where the 90% figure holds true. So, of course, Cisco is absolutely devoted to partner success and has established multiple partner-facing teams. There are teams dedicated to supporting partners with selling, but Winn...2020-04-1423 minEcosystem Aces100: Google’s Customer-Focused Partner Advantage Program w/ Nina HardingHow should you approach building a partner advantage program from scratch? Should you focus on the leveling — your Gold, Silver or Bronze designations? And who should the program center on? Well, if you want to succeed like Google, you need to marry a partner-focused and a customer-focused approach and highlight capabilities. That’s how our guest today, Nina Harding, Chief of Global Partner Strategy and Programs at Google, tackled building Google’s Partner Advantage program from the ground up. In this episode, Nina goes over: - The challenges and rewards to building Google’s Partner Advantage program from scratch - Why a custome...2020-04-0723 minEcosystem Aces99: How to Face the Challenge of Scaling at Speed w/ Katie EcklundRapid growth is the epitome of the saying “it’s a good problem to have.” Still, this doesn’t discount the very real challenges breakneck scaling involves. And as the market landscape gets ever more dominated by SaaS companies experiencing explosive growth, it’s important we learn from their experiences. That’s why we sat down with Katie Ecklund, Director of SI alliances at Snowflake, to see what her experiences can teach us about how to handle the challenges of the good problem everyone wants to have. Over the last 3 years, Katie has brought her experience working at major organizations like IBM and eve...2020-03-3117 minEcosystem Aces98: Inside Dell’s Global Services Channel Program w/ Olav SchluterIn many of the conversations we have about alliance partnerships, a few key things crop up. Any healthy alliance program relies on aligning your needs with the needs of partners, enabling their success and making sure you can quantify your shared success. Olav Schluter, Director of Global Services Channel Programs at Dell, has orchestrated these key building blocks into a symphony of ecosystem success. He came on the show today to share how Dell achieved this and I think we can all learn from his achievements. Olav covered: - What Dell’s Services Program is - How they tackled alignment and avoid...2020-03-2420 minEcosystem Aces97: Why Quality Beats Quantity in Software Ecosystems w/ Tom RobertsModern software ecosystems have changed. Ecosystems are no longer valued for the sheer quantity of solutions they offer — they are valued for, well, the actual value their solutions provide. More doesn’t mean better; better means better. It’s a key insight from our guest today, Tom Roberts, Senior Vice President at the Global Partner Organization over at SAP. Tom has had incredible success at SAP, delivering more than $1B in revenue overseeing the Solution Extension program as it grows 89% year-over-year. There are a lot of great takeaways from Tom’s success and experience and he shares many of them with me toda...2020-03-1724 minEcosystem Aces96: Your Alliances’ Differentiation Matters: How You Can Add Value w/ Jenni FlindersWhen discussing ecosystems, often the conversation revolves around what your alliances can do for you. Yet, the conversation is incomplete without discussing your responsibility in the ecosystem. If you want a thriving ecosystem, you need to ask yourself: How am I adding value to my alliances? Today’s guest Jenni Flinders, VP and Channel Chief at VMWare, says a great way to add value is to analyze how you can help your alliances differentiate. We covered a lot of ground today, including: - Why you should target alliance differentiation - Why simple questions provide powerful solutions - How enablement holds an ecosy...2020-03-0315 minEcosystem Aces94: The Simple Recipe for a Successful Alliance Program w/ Shubhra SinhaManaging ecosystems and alliances comes with a lot of moving parts and a diverse set of talents and skills is required to make it work. This is especially true when building the program from the ground up. We invited Shubhra Sinha, principal at The Value Exponent, onto the #EcosystemsAces podcast, and she shared her expertise in building alliance programs from the ground up. What we talked about: - Why you need a strategic start. - Why belief in the program is vital. - Why long-term thinking is needed. - How you measure success. To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ide...2020-02-1119 minEcosystem Aces89: How a Fast Go-to-Market Strategy Enables Partners w/ Ben GalegoGoing from idea to app in just eight weeks sounds crazy, right? This seemingly insane timeframe is what Appian — an app development company — has built so many prolific partnerships on. Appian found what they do well and they can do it fast. Ultimately, their business model has produced numerous win/win/win situations for them, their partners, and the end customers. In this episode of Ecosystem Aces, I have the opportunity to sit down with Appian’s Commercial Partner Director (PwC), Ben Galego. Ben fills us in on: How Appian offers partners such a quick turnaround His tips on managing a joint...2019-12-2321 minEcosystem Aces88: 6 Tips for a Modern Ecosystem From IBM’s Global Partner Executive w/ Justin SilviaAlliance & partner managers: What if we managed our partnerships the way Amazon does? What if we created a buying, delivery, packaging, and customer success experience that was just as seamless as theirs? Perhaps easier said than done, but Justin Silvia is here to tell us his tips on building seamless customer experiences while managing complex partnerships. Justin Silvia is the Executive Director of the Strategic Partner Program at IBM. What we talked about: Ecosystems, alliances, and partnerships Trusting each other’s expertise Creating a unified experience for the customer Ensuring solutions provide value to every level of the customer’s orga...2019-12-0323 minEcosystem Aces87: The 3 ‘Es’ of Ecosystem Success w/ David HerringOn this episode, David Herring joins us to share his 3 “Es” of success within alliances. David Herring is the Senior Channel Manager of Partner Programs at Spectrum Enterprise. What we talked about: Engage Enable Educate Connect with the strategic initiatives of the executive team You don’t have to always be a perfect fit To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by: Email: chip@workspan.com Twitter: @chiprodgers LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers2019-11-2618 minEcosystem Aces84: Building a Channel Partner Ecosystem? Here’s Everything You Need to Know w/ Marc PalomboIf you’re considering a reseller/channel partner program, this is the episode for you. Marc Palombo joins host Chip Rodgers to discuss channel partnerships. Marc has worked with channels for over 25 years. Now, he’s the Reseller Program Manager at AvidXchange, a payment solution that's now working with over 540,000 B2B suppliers, which, according to Marc, makes it the largest B2B supplier network. What we talked about: Finding the best mix of direct selling vs. resellers can be a challenge Revenue share agreements Cost plus wholesale model Why there’s more creatively allowed inside of wholesale models There’s a cont...2019-10-2224 minEcosystem Aces67: 5 Reasons You Want WorkSpan on Your Team w/ Gaurav SainiWhy should you trust WorkSpan with your partnerships and alliances? That’s a great question. We don’t have 1 reason for you. We have 5. For this episode of the #AllianceAces podcast, Chip and Guarav did a special Facebook Live interview from SAPPHIRE in Orlando, Florida. They talked about transparency, the success of the entire ecosystem, how value differs from company to company, driving results, and sharing a single view of metrics. Gaurav Saini is VP of Network Success at WorkSpan. Chip Rogers is VP of Marketing and Alliances at WorkSpan, and host of the #AllianceAces podcast.2019-06-2512 minEcosystem Aces63: Long Term Vs. Opportunistic Alliance Management w/ Ard-Pieter de ManThe modern era demands rapid development. But to create a timely solution that meets demands, companies need a network of long-standing partnerships they can rely on. So ... should an alliance manager invest in long-term relationships, or seize revenue opportunities and develop partnerships as needed? It’s a real question, and it deserves a thorough answer. We brought in Ard-Pieter de Man, Professor and Researcher at Vrije University in Amsterdam, on the #AllianceAces podcast — hosted by Chip Rodgers, VP Marketing and Alliances at WorkSpan. Here’s what Ard told us about the tradeoffs in long-term alliance management and opportunistic alliance management:2019-05-2812 minEcosystem Aces15: How to create alliances between complex organizations w/ Don JonesDon Jones, Senior Vice President, Alliance and ecosystems at HCL Technologies, talked with Chip Rodgers, VP Marketing and Alliances at WorkSpan on #AllianceAces podcast.2018-08-1425 minEcosystem Aces10: Creating Global Alliances w/ Bob BreitelBob Breitel, Director of the Global SAP Alliance for IBM, met with Chip Rodgers, VP of Marketing of WorkSpan, at SAPPHIRE NOW to talk about creating global alliances.2018-07-1013 min