Advice from channel experts to partners: Fail fast, dive deep, embrace tech and stay ahead of customer needs.

February 9, 2018

12 Min Read
2019 Resolutions

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Dan Shapero

By Dan Shapero

It’s February. Do you know where your New Year’s resolutions are? If you’re like most, vows to get more exercise, eat well, save better and travel more shriveled in the cold reality of January. To recharge your resolve, we asked seven top channel thinkers for their insights on new programs, new technologies to drive customer/client innovation, ways to grow revenue and improve margins, tips for business planning and even suggestions for “must-read” books for 2018.

Resolution 1: Adapt to Seismic Change, and Do It With a Smile

Jay McBain, principal analyst for global channels at Forrester Research, says it’s “do or die time” for smaller resellers and VARs.

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Forrester’s Jay McBain

“With dropping numbers globally, huge demographic headwinds driving retirements, insolvency numbers creeping up, and a buyer’s market for M&A activity, smaller traditional IT companies will need to transform to survive,” says McBain. We’ll discuss how to get that transformation in gear.

Oh, and don’t think suppliers are off the hook. McBain says the trend toward freezing out those small partners hurts everyone.

“A partner that only comes around once a year to do a deal may still be a loyal partner, and you may enjoy 100 percent wallet share,” he says. “Instead of dumping them, figure out how to manage them less expensively, and when that yearly opportunity starts to take shape, go all-in for the time period required to win.”

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Ingram Micro’s Paul Bay

Ingram Micro Executive Vice President and Group President of the Americas Paul Bay is focusing his 2018 resolutions on five key areas: connection, convergence, community, expertise and getting back to the basics. For the latter, Bay is a big advocate for focusing on core competencies and advises Ingram’s partners to recommit to operational excellence as an adaptation mechanism.

“Times are changing,” he says. “Maybe you’re doing business in an area where you’re being marginalized. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Reassess, and focus your efforts.”

He advises building peer partnerships in areas where you need help to be competitive.

“Fail fast and move on with a ‘kill it’ mentality if something isn’t working,” he says.

“In 2018, we’ll be celebrating five years since AT&T Partner Exchange launched and remain focused on continuing the momentum to help our solutions providers win in the marketplace,” says Meredith Caram, assistant vice president for market development at AT&T Partner Solutions. “It’s all about growth.”

She says AT&T will continue to put solution providers at …

…the center of its program and invest in enabling them to sell through self-service, automation and instant quoting platforms. AT&T will also expand its fiber network to reach more businesses.

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AT&T’s Meredith Caram

Her personal resolution? “To smile more,” she says. “Smiling influences your brain and improves performance. As a bonus, smiles are contagious.”

Resolution 2: Embrace Technology Like You Mean It

“One of the things channel leaders have lost over the last decade has been their enthusiasm for tech in general,” says Todd Thibodeaux, CEO of CompTIA. “Recommit yourselves to being tech junkies beyond your phone and laptop. Read Gizmodo and TechCrunch at least once a week. If you haven’t already, try products like Google Home or Amazon’s Echo. Try some connected-home devices or a robot vacuum. Take the time to understand where things are going with augmented reality and virtual reality. Find some good TED Talks on artificial intelligence.”

Yes, that takes time, but Thibodeaux insists the investment will position you as a thought leader for customers.

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CompTIA’s Todd Thibodeaux

“Another resolution might be to choose a couple of verticals and dive deep into understanding how the technologies you’re selling are truly impacting their business models,” he says. “How is tech changing the hospitality industry? How are autonomous vehicles going to change the car business? How is the medical industry being transformed by tech? Or retail. Anything that gets you out of your comfort zone and forces you to explore will improve your ability to make good decisions by broadening your perspective.”

One area changing fast is security. Datto’s Vice President of Business Development Rob Rae says that knowledge can’t be static because the range of threats customers face will continue to grow in 2018.

“Datto’s 2017 State of the Channel Ransomware Report found that 99 percent of MSPs expect the frequency of attacks to increase over the next two years,” says Rae. “MSPs need to be focused on combating this evolving threat, as new ransomware strains continue to develop. This includes educating staff and customers.”

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Datto’s Rob Rae

Rae also says that partners must realize customers are moving fast to the cloud. He cites Datto’s Backupify brand’s just-announced G Suite Backup 2.0, to protect Google Team Drives alongside individuals’ Gmail, Calendar, Contacts and Drive.

AT&T’s Caram agrees that maintaining a competitive edge means embracing new technologies, such as IoT and SDN.

“Set yourself apart by delivering solutions your customers need to grow,” she says. “And invest …

… in automation tools to drive scale and gain efficiencies within your own business.”

Resolution 3: When It Comes to Customers’ Business Needs, Don’t Follow the Puck

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TPx’s Ken Bisnoff

“Look at where your customers are going, not where they’ve been,” says TPx Channel Chief Ken Bisnoff. “Provide them solutions that go beyond phones and bandwidth.”

In other words, extend adaptation and embracing tech to customer business trends and realities.

“Partners should resolve to keep on top of the transformational trends that are making devices, location and lowest price less important,” says Bisnoff. “Customers expect solutions that adapt to them, not the other way around.”

Bisnoff agrees with Rae on the primacy of security and continuity. “Businesses depend on being always up and running, without fail, because that’s what their customers expect,” he says. “Ransomware and other cyberattacks are increasing, targeting small businesses even more than they do big ones because they are easier targets.”

Fail to protect customers and Michael George, CEO of Continuum, sees some pain ahead.

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Continuum’s Michael George

“In 2018, the No. 1 reason that service providers will be fired by their end customers and a new one will be hired will be security,” says George. “Clients expect that their service providers are taking every necessary step to secure them against cyber threats. But, an escalating threat landscape means that there is a new set of attack vectors that those clients aren’t prepared for — and a growing portfolio of security tools that they’re not paying for.”

Asking for more spending on security isn’t easy, of course. But it’s necessary.

“Service providers are going to face difficult conversations with their clients, in which they need to explain how the threat has changed and what the clients now need to be protected,” says George. “These will be challenging talks, but with the marketplace rapidly retooling and retraining to meet this demand, these service providers must either face the difficult conversation or face being unseated by a more capable rival.”

External factors are at play here, too, he says. While 2017’s massive data breaches made the headlines for a day or two, the headlines aren’t the end of the story.

“Their effects will be felt for months and years to come as the stolen data is traded and exploited on the dark web well into 2018,” says George. “Service providers need to decide if they want to have these tough conversations now, or in the aftermath …

… of an attack their clients thought they were protected against.”

CompTIA’s Thibodeaux suggests that partners pick a few customers and shadow their businesses for a few days. He predicts that after doing so, you’ll find at least three new SaaS products you can introduce to make them more productive. Then, get the word out.

“Use tools like TypeForm and Zapier to supercharge [your] marketing,” he adds.

Resolution 4: Make Like a Shark and Keep Moving Forward

“As the fine print always says, ‘past success is no guarantee of future performance,’” says Bisnoff. “Our industry is undergoing a sea change that will make the comfort of business-as-usual routines a very cold and unprofitable one.”

Channel pros know that this year, Bisnoff had the opportunity to practice what he preaches.

“TPx pivoted from a successful run as a telecom company to an even more exciting life as a premier national managed services carrier,” he says. “We’re increasingly focused on agnostic access because bandwidth is a limiting, low-margin game that isn’t going to regain its luster. So, a focus on managed services and how they can be made simpler and more effective for customers is key.”

TPx is also increasing its focus on managed security and high-speed internet access via new and expanded relationships with national masters.

“We’ve been announcing new channel managers on an almost weekly basis as we close out the year, and now have 34 in key markets across the U.S.,” he says. “Today the channel represents more than half of TPx’s new business, and that number is only going to grow, since we do not intend to open up new direct sales offices across the country but rather depend on growing and enhancing our already deep relationships with the channel.”

Bisnoff advises partners to up their customer engagement games by communicating using a rich set of content for social media, with a focus on video. He recommends catering to people short on time by putting out a series of concise video segments that get across one or two key points.

“The standard written white papers, data sheets and similar vehicles that we know and love are too long in the tooth and simply don’t reach the people we need to reach, in the way that they prefer,” he says. “But not everything old should be thrown out. Continue to invest in customer service and responsiveness — in people, technology and …

… the communications that make you a partner of your customer, not simply a vendor.”

Continuum’s George offers tips for service providers seeking to be acquired in 2018.

“Partners need to focus on their ‘sales ability’ to avoid getting caught in an M&A ‘no-man’s-land,’” says George. “Acquirers are now paying a premium for providers that have either a sales capacity or a cost-effective service delivery capacity. If a provider isn’t excelling at either, they’ll struggle to survive in a market that’s consolidating at a rapid pace. Providers need to shift their organizational focus and economics from service delivery to becoming more in tune with their market and selling against their needs, or they could struggle to survive beyond 2019.”

Datto’s Rae suggests partners expand their horizons as well.

“Take note of developments in the European and Asian markets,” says Rae. “The European market is well beyond the question of adoption, but the conversation has shifted from the value of the MSP model to creating better efficiencies for MSPs. In 2018, we’ll see a push in this direction, with more synergies being explored and leveraged to maximize the value that MSPs can offer to their customers. Conversely in Asia, the market is much quicker at adopting business models and technologies that have a proven track record.”

In fact, he sees rapidly growing interest in the MSP model in the region.

“We are going to experience really quick levels of adoption that will make Asia the market with more growth in 2018,” he says.

Ingram Micro’s Bay points out that the fast growth we’re seeing so far in 2018 brings risk as well as reward.

“Building the right culture and team chemistry are two of the biggest challenges any business can face, especially when they are growing rapidly,” he says. “It’s important to note risk is often in the execution. Making the right decision is often easier than executing it.”

Ingram Micro does offer advice to help partners with financial services and to gain new areas of expertise, such as in IoT. In a connected world, people, devices and outcomes are tied together, and partners must have a strong services portfolio.

“You have to embrace a connected world — from the device to the connection to the collaboration,” Bay says. “If you want to stand out from the competition, specialization and expertise are winning. Convergence is driving consolidation and more specialization, both at the …

…vendor level and among channel partners.”

Resolution 5: Take Time to Read a Good Book and Do Some Good

Bisnoff says that all the changes in our industry and channel make it a great time to re-read “Who Moved My Cheese?

Caram has “Settle for More” by Megyn Kelly on her must-read list, while CTIA’s Thibodeaux says take time to study history and read “The First Tycoon.” This book chronicling Cornelius Vanderbilt’s rags-to-riches story parallels how tech titans with unicorn valuations are leading the next phase of automation and scale in our economy.

Thibodeaux’s personal resolution for 2018 is to write more short stories, while Rae says he’s looking forward to mentoring a millennial or speaking at a college class to make sure that the MSP model stays strong in the future.

“A new generation is entering the market, and it is important that we give the workforce of tomorrow the tools that they need to succeed,” he says.

Dan Shapero is the newly appointed president of TeamLogic IT and founder of ClikCloud. He is also a member of the CompTIA Board of Directors.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danshapero
Twitter: @clikcloud

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