Image Gallery: 2018 Riverbed Partner Summit
Riverbed's new CEO and channel chief had their first partner summit in their new positions.
Partners gathered in Huntington Beach, California, last week to see Riverbed Technology‘s vision for the upcoming year.
Partners from multiple continents attended the Riverbed Partner Summit, where fresh faces representing the Riverbed leadership team spoke about how the company will attack the market. New CEO Paul Mountford enjoyed his first partner summit as leader of the company. We wrote up a Day 1 recap and did an interview with Riverbed’s channel chief.
To learn more about what Riverbed did last week, scroll through the gallery below.
Looking for more? Check out our gallery from last year’s summit.
California Sun
Riverbed hosted the summit at the Hilton Waterfront right next to Huntington Beach. It wasn't the sunniest of weeks, but the temperatures were pleasant enough for holding several events outside. The hotel also housed participants in the Huntington Beach Open professional volleyball tournament, which started May 1.
Riverbed hosted the summit at the Hilton Waterfront right next to Huntington Beach. It wasn't the sunniest of weeks, but the temperatures were pleasant enough for holding several events outside. The hotel also housed participants in the Huntington Beach Open professional volleyball tournament, which started May 1.
Channel Chief
Bridget Bisnette, Riverbed's vice president of global channels and commercial sales, was the main emcee on the keynote stage throughout the week. Her opening speech encouraged partners to be "shape-shifters" that adapt to digital transformation. She warned that the statistics say 40 percent of partners will be out of business two years from now.
She also sat down with Channel Partners to discuss how Riverbed's partner strategy has changed in the last year.
Bridget Bisnette, Riverbed's vice president of global channels and commercial sales, was the main emcee on the keynote stage throughout the week. Her opening speech encouraged partners to be "shape-shifters" that adapt to digital transformation. She warned that the statistics say 40 percent of partners will be out of business two years from now.
She also sat down with Channel Partners to discuss how Riverbed's partner strategy has changed in the last year.
Chief Technology Officer
Hansang Bae delved into some of the nuances of Riverbed's portfolio. He demoed the company's SD-WAN platform, which prides itself on combining network visibility with control. He said many rival SD-WAN vendors falsely brand their products as providing "end-to-end" visibility.
"With Riverbed, the ability to monitor end-to-end and the ability to control that traffic, something magical starts to happen,” he said.
Read some of his comments, as well as parts of Bisnette's speech, from the Monday keynote.
Hansang Bae delved into some of the nuances of Riverbed's portfolio. He demoed the company's SD-WAN platform, which prides itself on combining network visibility with control. He said many rival SD-WAN vendors falsely brand their products as providing "end-to-end" visibility.
"With Riverbed, the ability to monitor end-to-end and the ability to control that traffic, something magical starts to happen,” he said.
Read some of his comments, as well as parts of Bisnette's speech, from the Monday keynote.
Riverbed Rise
The company ran a pop-up office for its recently revamped partner program. Partners scheduled visits to view their earnings and rewards.
Riverbed announced the enhancements to the program back in January.
The company ran a pop-up office for its recently revamped partner program. Partners scheduled visits to view their earnings and rewards.
Riverbed announced the enhancements to the program back in January.
IDC
Attendees heard a statistic-saturated talk from Meredith Whalen, IDC's senior vice president of IT executive, software, services and industry research. Whalen presented numbers surrounding how organizations are handling digital transformation, or "DX," as Riverbed frequently used in shorthand during the week.
Although more organizations are moving toward "DX," Whalen said the majority of them are deadlocked. IDC's numbers call 16 percent of organizations "resisters," 30 percent "explorers," 29 percent "players," 20 percent "transformers," and only 5 percent "disruptors."
Attendees heard a statistic-saturated talk from Meredith Whalen, IDC's senior vice president of IT executive, software, services and industry research. Whalen presented numbers surrounding how organizations are handling digital transformation, or "DX," as Riverbed frequently used in shorthand during the week.
Although more organizations are moving toward "DX," Whalen said the majority of them are deadlocked. IDC's numbers call 16 percent of organizations "resisters," 30 percent "explorers," 29 percent "players," 20 percent "transformers," and only 5 percent "disruptors."
Partners
About 300 attendees came from around the world for education, networking and face-to-face time with Riverbed executives.
About 300 attendees came from around the world for education, networking and face-to-face time with Riverbed executives.
Partner Awards
Executives from Orange Business Services receive an accolade from Bisnette (far right) and new Riverbed CEO Paul Mountford (far left).
Riverbed awarded some of its top-performing partners. Orange won the global category for "Authorized Support Partners." This photo was courtesy of Riverbed.
You can find the full list of winners on the second page of our Day 1 recap.
Executives from Orange Business Services receive an accolade from Bisnette (far right) and new Riverbed CEO Paul Mountford (far left).
Riverbed awarded some of its top-performing partners. Orange won the global category for "Authorized Support Partners." This photo was courtesy of Riverbed.
You can find the full list of winners on the second page of our Day 1 recap.
Josh Linkner
Linkner, a New York Times bestselling author and former VAR founder, gave a talk about innovation.
He relayed a decades-old lesson of winning a bid with a major company. He traveled across country for negotiations, only to leave with the potential deal gridlocked. He inadvertently swayed the buyer when he ceded his first-class airplane seat to another passenger.
Linkner, a New York Times bestselling author and former VAR founder, gave a talk about innovation.
He relayed a decades-old lesson of winning a bid with a major company. He traveled across country for negotiations, only to leave with the potential deal gridlocked. He inadvertently swayed the buyer when he ceded his first-class airplane seat to another passenger.
Beach Bash
Riverbed invited partners to put on their Hawaiian-themed casual wear, enjoy a fajita and have a drink. A hearty crowd braved light rain sprinkles for an evening of networking.
Riverbed invited partners to put on their Hawaiian-themed casual wear, enjoy a fajita and have a drink. A hearty crowd braved light rain sprinkles for an evening of networking.
DX Panel
Uma Thana Balasingam, Riverbed's vice president of channels and sales for Asia Pacific and Japan, led a panel of Riverbed partners discussing how they've helped customers with digital transformation. Teneo's Scott Gibson, Geode Network's Nigel Townsend, and BlueAlly's Bernard Westwood joined her on stage.
We interviewed Westwood for our SD-WAN roundup back in January.
Uma Thana Balasingam, Riverbed's vice president of channels and sales for Asia Pacific and Japan, led a panel of Riverbed partners discussing how they've helped customers with digital transformation. Teneo's Scott Gibson, Geode Network's Nigel Townsend, and BlueAlly's Bernard Westwood joined her on stage.
We interviewed Westwood for our SD-WAN roundup back in January.
Paul Mountford
Riverbed's new CEO gave the final address of the conference on Wednesday. Mountford took over for the retired Jerry Kennelly last month.
Mountford said during his keynote that he doesn't want to change Riverbed's culture, but rather continue what Kennelly created. His evolution-themed presentation encouraged partners to take several action steps including:
Riverbed's new CEO gave the final address of the conference on Wednesday. Mountford took over for the retired Jerry Kennelly last month.
Mountford said during his keynote that he doesn't want to change Riverbed's culture, but rather continue what Kennelly created. His evolution-themed presentation encouraged partners to take several action steps including:
- Ask "How digital are you?"
- Leverage the Riverbed portfolio.
- Independently create demand.
- Set the pace in the market.
