Channels that have
traditionally made
their revenues from
selling hardware
are struggling in
the new world
where everything
is consumption and
cloud based.
How do you ensure channel
partners flourish in a highly
competitive market? When you look back at your
career what has been the most
memorable achievement?
Margin, margin and margin. By investing
in programmes where partners can make
healthy margins and engaging early to assist
in the complete sales cycle.
If you do a proof of concept, then
make sure it aligns with business value
and has a business case around savings or
returns on investments.
Don’t rely on technical selling alone. We
also try and solve problems rather than offer
point technology solutions. Building Nutanix from a three-man team
in a coffee shop five years ago to the local
operation we have now.
What are the latest trends you see
emerging across the channel?
Channels that have traditionally made
their revenues from selling hardware
are struggling in the new world where
everything is consumption and cloud based.
The ones that are doing well are the ones
that can understand what the customer
wants and how they want to purchase it.
Big, up-front five-year purchases are a dying
commodity, no matter how attractive the
price is.
What is your
management philosophy?
Hire good people and then get out of
their way.
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What made you think of a career
in technology?
I didn’t – I kind of fell into the space and liked
it. That was in 1991.
What do you think will be the hot
technology talking point of 2020?
Cloud will continue to be a large topic
especially as many companies start to realise
the complexity of the journey they have
embarked on. Expect some pullbacks from
the cloud as the bills start to arrive. Also, AI,
RPA etc – these will start to bring massive
automation to business processes which will
disrupt traditional work.
What are your personal interests
and where do you like to spend
most of your time after work?
Keeping a work, life balance is always
difficult in this industry. Personally, I spend
a lot of time at home or travelling and I ride
bicycles (road and mountain) to keep me
balanced. When I can get to the coast, I love
scuba diving.