Deal Registration

CF: Obviously deal registration and channel conflict are not new issues. Why do you think now is the time to really tackle those? And why do you think you and your team are the people to achieve that?

TF: Well, working collaboratively, of course, with the worldwide partner organization — which owns our deal registration program — and becoming strong partners with them, being the voice of our partners in the field, is a critical component.

In terms of our deal registration program. I would say we have evolved, and I would say versus when I [started here] six years ago, we have made some pretty significant changes based on feedback from our partners and from our field teams.

The complexity also comes from the evolution of our products, our routes to market, our sales cycles. How do we incorporate all of that into a deal registration program? I don’t expect to figure it out in the next three weeks, but I would tell you that we are making progress. I think the new Partner Connect program that’s going to launch next year will be a key element of that.

But just as we evolve it, there’s new things already coming up right that we’ve got to go think about.