WOJTEK ŻYCZYŃSKI , Channel Director , EMEA Emerging Markets at Citrix , an American multinational software company that provides server , application and desktop virtualisation , networking , software-as-a- service ( SaaS ) and cloud computing technologies . Citrix products are claimed to be in use by over 400,000 clients worldwide , including 99 % of the Fortune 100 and 98 % of the Fortune 500 . Życzyńsk management philosophy focuses on mentoring , leadership and coaching , and believes that building a strong foundation of healthy relationships is imperative in the channel . He explains to us how Citrix is growing its investment in the channel and shifting those investments to better support the company ’ s partner strategy .

Describe your current job role and the parts that are somewhat challenging ?

I support the channel across emerging markets , to drive the transformation of the business . If I look specifically at South Africa and the state of business within its economy , we have a good set of loyal Citrix partners that have been with us for many years . The current challenge is that the pandemic has accelerated the need for Digital Transformation and as a result , many businesses have changed how they operate . This means that we and our channel partners , need to transform with them . The partners who are best prepared for this transformation are taking the following actions :

• Investing in and supporting their teams by giving technical staff the proper certification , proper skills and tools they need to execute their jobs effectively

• Seeing their salespeople as industrial experts rather than regular sellers , by helping them understand their customers ’ needs better as well as understanding the processes executed behind-the-scenes within the business

• Adapting marketing operations by combining digital sales , qualifications and scrutinising the usage of data .

Can you explain how your company works with channel partners ?

At Citrix , we have a global channel programme that we continually adjust to better support our partners . Our incentives reflect the changing market and we aim to make things as simple as possible , so that each channel partners can maintain efficiency . We support registration for partner incentives to ensure that we are rewarding partners who are bringing new opportunities to Citrix and we also support the marketing activities and cloud transformation of our channel partners .

We are growing our investment in the channel year over year and are shifting those investments to better support our strategy . It is important that as our partners are also growing and transforming their businesses , the profitability model must also change in a positive way to support this . So , it ’ s important to really transform the organisation in line with our accelerated ( and unprecedented ) reality .

How do you ensure channel partners flourish in a highly competitive market ?

As a people manager , I have been through massive changes , starting with the economic crisis [ the great recession ] in 2008 , when everyone was lost on what to do . What I learnt and what I now apply when helping channel partners to grow , is that in a highly competitive market , people need :

• Leadership : Now more than ever , we need leaders , not managers or bosses . Leaders must inspire us , give us freedom and provide us the chance to unlock people ’ s potential as well

Wojtek Życzyński , Channel Director , EMEA Emerging Markets at Citrix

INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 43 61