Partnering with credible vendors to speed up new routes to market , and investing inhouse later , will give regional providers an upper hand and keep them at the forefront of industry trends says ASHLEY BUTCHER at Node4 .

Node4 Group comprises of several go to market teams , including enterprise , SME and public sector , and I am the Director of the wholesale sector known as Node4 Channel . My team looks after resellers , VARs , MSPs , and other IT vendors who resell our products and services to their own end customers .

What are your strengths and abilities that you bring to the above role ?

I have plenty of experience in growing a wholesale business as throughout my career , I have done it many times . For example , at TalkTalk , I was part of an early team that grew the Carrier channel from scratch . That is now a fully-fledged business unit within their wholesale department . I also ran a £ 140m P & L at BT and we managed the largest strategic wholesale partnership .

Genuine belief in your vision or strategy is the key to unlocking momentum and growth

AI is already paving the way for some interesting opportunities , and in the next 18 – 24 months that will prove what a disrupter this will be . of your revenue . If you show integrity and a genuine passion for it , your team will believe it and pass it down to the customers .

Please describe the opportunities and challenges that exist for channel partners in your market ?

There is a huge opportunity for providers to diversify their revenues and provide more solution-centric propositions to their customers . Some providers are earlier on in that MSP journey and are investigating ways to embrace new products , such as data and AI , and this is a gap that we have identified at Node4 Channel .

We are essentially assisting our partners on that transformation journey , offering a quicker route to market , enabling them to support their clients with gaps they have in either skillsets or products .

However , there are also some challenges , not in the least the movements we are seeing with vendors , such as VMware following the acquisition by Broadcom . It is creating an uncertain future for many resellers , but we are perfectly placed to help our partners through this and other such uncertainties .

Which technologies and innovations can make a difference to the channel market dynamics in the near future ?

AI is already paving the way for some interesting opportunities , and in the next 18 – 24 months , we will see more solutions and case studies that will prove what a disrupter this will be . By collaborating with vendors , such as the Node4 Channel , and making the most of data and AI solutions in your customer base , partners can sell solutions

Ashley Butcher , Channel Sales Director , Node4

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