EMC aims to offer programs that are simple, predictable and profitable, says Jeff Taylor, VP of Global Channel Strategy and Operations.

Jeff Taylor, VP of Global Channel Strategy and Operations and Co-GM of Unified Entry Business, EMC, spoke with theCUBE hosts John Furrier and  Dave Vellante during EMC World this week about the transformation of EMC into a channel-friendly company.

After years of being known as a not-so-friendly channel company, the transformation occured when EMC started doing things differently. “We listen better than we have, in a structured and systematic way”, admits Jeff. “We want our program and our business to be more partner-built.”

Learning from partners

Twice a year EMC does partner surveys. Last time they had 2000 respondents come back, rating them 25 percent above their peer group, in terms of hardware, software and satisfaction. 80 percent of their partners think of EMC as a trusted advisor.

Times are extremely challenging right now, because the channel business cross-margins everything and everyone wants to make good margins. EMC is special because it offers some high octane services, citing as highlights the V-specs and Cloud Services Provider program. EMC boasts the fastest-growing reference architecture on the market, with 22 hundred units sold, and it’s expanding based on partner feedback, whilst enhancing the performance. The Cloud Services Provider program, launched last year, is already showing some serious growth.

What makes it all appealing to the customers is that those solutions are built and tested in EMC’s lab. The partners receive just the tools needed to use in their business, thus reducing the steps to implement and deploy.

“We want our programs to be simple, predictable and profitable”, says Jeff Taylor. “We made it more sales friendly, taking out the implementation engineering requirements. We made it easier for out partners to get on board and start making rebates. As for profitability, we increasingly expand the programs that are available, bringing more into our program portfolio.”

Educating clients

Of course, in order to sell this wide range of solutions, people need to be savvy, and this comes down to training. Differentiated product training, to be precise.

In terms of portfolio and the solutions associated with that, EMC moved “from creditation to competence”, getting their partners out in the field and doing endorsements with their representatives. In the US there are 400 endorsed partner representatives and a “Ready for Partner pre-sales” program. EMC has definitely focused on sales engagement and driving training.

Threat vs. opportunity in the cloud

The channel partners’ reaction to the cloud is mixed. Some find it disruptive, seeing it as a threat, but others are looking into ways to turn the threat into an opportunity.  Some are becoming infrastructure and platform providers, while others are looking for brokerage opportunities, trying to connect with other partners. They are transforming their skill sets, learning more about workloads and where they are heading, changing the focus from the IT and the data center administrator to the business leader.

EMC operates worldwide, and the only way to manage the variability is to define an end state. “Each market is in a different state of maturity, so we monitor, manage and drive the activity, let those theaters develop in time towards the end state.”, says Jeff Taylor. “It takes careful management and diligence. But our partners want us to deliver them the power of our vision into something that they can translate into their own strength.”

Jeff Taylor was interviewed by John Furrier and Dave Vellante as part of the theme talks “Lead Your Transformation – How cloud can transform your IT and how Big Data can transform your business.”