My commitment to servant leadership enables me to focus on how I can best serve those around me and invest in their success . customers use cloud and that comes down to understanding what customers really value : service and support that helps them meet their goals .
What are the latest trends you see emerging across the channel ?
I think there are a lot of changes taking place around how everyone approaches sales and selling , both on the customer and on the partner front . You can ’ t get away with one size fits all approaches and seeing what sticks . Instead , there are new approaches to running operations around revenue , around customer management , around long term relationships and cloud has been a big part of helping that to happen .
However , it ’ s not a static process – what worked a few years ago is not what will work in the future . Some of the approaches and software providers that were instrumental in the early days of cloud and SaaS are now the establishment that they once railed against . What they have in the market now is just as ripe for change as the old traditional software that SaaS replaced . That will make things very interesting over the next few years , as you get more new companies come in and start doing things their way .
What is your management philosophy ?
My approach is based on the idea of servant leadership – my role is not about my achievements , but to make it easier for you to achieve your goals . If everyone across a team can perform well then that delivers on my goals . That means my focus is always on how to build those repeatable and effective approaches that people can use to succeed , attracting and retaining that top talent on to the team and helping them perform consistently so we can deliver that effective pipeline . I enjoy building high performance teams and empowering individuals to be successful both professionally and personally . My commitment to servant leadership enables me to focus on how I can best serve those around me and invest in their success .
What made you think of a career in technology ?
I took a degree in business management at Gwynedd Mercy University in Philadelphia and followed that with a Masters in Business Intelligence . The role for data in how we run companies has always been fascinating for me and that is something that has only grown in importance over time . Across the business world , that emphasis on getting data and using it more effectively has been the biggest trend in the last 20 years and it will only continue to grow in importance . Helping companies achieve that goal involves looking at solutions like cloud , so it has been a natural path for me .
What do you think will be the hot technology talking point of 2021 ?
I think the biggest trend isn ’ t one that is directly related to technology itself , but trust . Trust as a concept is something that is affecting more and more companies involved in technology . There are questions that companies and individual developers are asking more and more frequently : “ Do I trust this will work like it says ? Do I trust the company behind it to have my best interests at heart ? Do I trust them not to use my data to compete with me ? Do I trust this company to work ethically , to respect its workers , to respect others ?” There is a sliding scale here – we often trust that services will function . This year , there will be more emphasis on why a company does something , not just how it does this .
It goes to the heart of how we approach working with customers and channel partners . For example , developers that use our cloud know that cloud computing is all that we do . We don ’ t operate subsidiaries in markets that compete with them and we don ’ t build products that compete with the products they ’ ve built . We don ’ t use their data to build our own projects at their expense . That is not something that every company in the cloud can stand for .
What are your personal interests and where do you like to spend most of your time after work ?
I have four kids , so a lot of my time outside work is spent with them . Family is really important to me . Alongside them , I ’ m a keen drummer so I have to practice and I support Everton Football Club . •
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