"The frustration is everything changes”: Vertiv associate director channel sales on the challenges partners face

How partners can keep up with the ever changing technology ecosystem.

Channel partners are facing a number of challenges, one of them being the constant change in the industry, this is according to Cynthia Lush, head of channel marketing ANZ at Vertiv.

Speaking to CRN Australia, she said, “The frustration is everything changes. There's a constant change.

“There's change with technology, there's people change, there's market condition change. It's that constant change and then keeping up with what the priorities are.

“The world just moves at such a speed now.”

Due to this change, Lush said partners need to be more forward thinking because they must anticipate what the trends are and then back themselves up.

“That's 100 percent what we're experiencing as well. You need to constantly look at what the market is doing, what your competition is doing,” she explained.

“What can you do better than the competition? Are your prices aligned to what everybody else is expecting? Is your product so far in advance that you know you are differentiating?

“All of that needs to be considered, if you aren't thinking and aren't evolving, you will eventually get left behind.”

Lush said that is why they're constantly encouraging their partners to keep abreast of what is the latest technology.

“Even if it isn't your sphere or your speciality, you still need to know what's going on in Australia, in the world, what will the technology look like tomorrow?

“If you position a solution that is only for today, your end customer is not going to be terribly happy tomorrow if you can't scale the solution,” she added.

She noted that there is just so much technology in the marketplace right now.

“There's so many vendors, there's so many options and the smart partners want the best for their end users, because often they're working with these end users for 5, 10, 20 amounts of years,” she said.

“For them, it's getting the right information at the right time, in a timely manner, without confusing.”

Lush said it is also about knowing your audience, from the CEO to the sales person.

“It's about knowing your audience and getting them the right level of information so then we can proceed,” she added.

Another frustration partners face is the slow pace of change in the industry.

“You have to rely on budgets, you have to rely on market conditions, you have to rely on life cycles of the end user,” she explained.

“They get frustrated because they want something to happen today, but sometimes understanding where people are in that cycle, how much of a priority is a particular project?”

She noted that every situation is different and ultimately, most partners want to become that trusted adviser.

“That's what they aspire to be, because then the conversations are much easier. I have worked with partners where I've gone into meetings with them, and you can see what a relaxed atmosphere it is,” Lush said.

“The customers very relaxed, they feel that they can ask any questions, even if the answer that they're given by us or the partner isn't what they want to hear. They need to hear it to build towards that trusted relationship.”

Vertiv provides critical digital infrastructure for applications in data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments.