Putting Out Fires

Advocacy and a willingness to act on channel feedback, over an extended period time, is another trait these channel chiefs share. It's what endears IBM's Frank Vitagliano and Intel's Steve Dallman to solution providers, even when they're delivering bad news, and it's the quality that enables Hewlett-Packard's Kevin Gilroy to keep the respect of small VARs and systems integrators despite his employer's controversial channel policies.

And finally, there's innovation. When you're in an emerging market, you are by necessity a trailblazer, like Symantec's Allyson Seelinger, who is helping define the role of security integrators, or Cisco Systems' Paul Mountford, whose decision to empower partners focused on new specialties helped shape Microsoft's recent channel overhaul.

As for those we randomly profiled, we looked to CRN's readers. Talk to any VAR who has had contact with NetScreen Technologies, and Mark Smith's name will come up as the very model of a channel chief,someone who sets tough goals but who also listens and acts. George Kafkarkou from Computer Associates International made his mark with a massive redesign of CA's program, while Citrix Systems' Ross Brown invites controversy with his willingness to experiment with new business models. Finally, with storage at the center of many VARs' business-continuity strategies, Hitachi Data Systems' Thomas Valiante gets a thumbs-up from many of the vendor's top solution providers.

Quality, not quantity. That could well be Mike Borman's watchword for the coming year. The IBM executive seems bent on making existing partners more productive rather than recruiting new ones into the fold.

Borman took the reins from longtime IBM global channel chief Peter Rowley earlier this year and immediately made recruiting partners from rival Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard a priority. But by the third quarter, after recruiting "several hundred" worldwide, Borman was ready to shift gears. "I'm focusing more now on making the ones that we've recruited more enabled and productive than on continuing to go after second- and third-tier partners," he said. "We've gone after and gotten the HP and Sun partners that we've wanted."

Growing market share and increasing profits for partners and IBM are Borman's No. 1 goals for the coming year. That includes using solution providers to generate more services revenue, particularly in the SMB segment. Borman thinks he can more than double services revenue through partners, primarily by having them sell packaged IBM Global Services offerings. "It's an untapped potential," he said.

IBM business partners give Borman credit. "He respects and understands the channel, and he listens well. We are starting to see some changes," said Bill Larsen, CEO of Computech Resources, a Premier IBM business partner in Green Bay, Wis. Larsen says he's all for more partnering with IBM Global Services, especially on a contractor/subcontractor basis. "We'll be better able to judge [Borman's performance] by next spring," he said.
-- Craig Zarley

"Mark gets out of the ivory tower. He's on an airplane, he's in your face," said Pat Grillo, president and CEO of Atrion Communications Resources, a Branchburg, N.J.-based security integrator that is part of the 1NService network.

When Grillo and another 1NService member requested an initial meeting with the fast-growing appliance vendor a couple of years ago, Smith made time on his calendar. Afterward, he delivered on his promises, including a pledge to provide free training to engineers in the 1NService network. "He did everything he said he was going to do," said Tom Gobeille, president and CEO of Network Computing Architects, Bellevue, Wash., recalling that first encounter.

Of course, the 47-year-old Smith expects commitment in return. His philosophy, controversial in some circles, is to control NetScreen's reseller ranks so partners don't wind up bidding against each other. "We've made mistakes, but it's very seldom that we give a lead to more than one VAR," he said.

He's had more than 20 years to develop his credo, holding channel positions at Zenith Data Systems, where he vowed to get closer to partners after some bad press, and Network Peripherals.

Smith recently bet a VAR a skydiving expedition,loser pays all,if he didn't fill its training center with 100 customers. He fell just shy. ComputerTech's Dallas branch manager Tommy Morris is waiting for his itinerary. Considering his record, Morris has little doubt Smith will follow through.
-- Heather Clancy

A lot has happened during George Kafkarkou's 21-year career with Computer Associates International, but October 2002 turned out to be a pivotal month. At the time, Kafkarkou headed up CA's indirect sales efforts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where he created a strategy that tightly coupled channel partners and CA's direct-sales force as a single selling engine. "In Europe, CA direct sales and the channel are absolutely entwined, resulting in wonderful teamwork," Kafkarkou said. "Sanjay [Kumar, CA's CEO] asked me to make the same thing happen in North America."

The result was CA's move to expand its channel-preferred sales strategy beyond storage. This past July, the vendor introduced aggressive rebates, expanded lead generation, and moved to free training, certification and support. "The reason I remain incredibly positive and enthusiastic about the channel, after 16 years working on the channel side, is because it's my belief that strategically CA cannot achieve its goals in any way without a very successful integration with and commitment to the channel," Kafkarkou said.

Kafkarkou started out at CA as a developer but became intrigued by what he saw as an innovation in the industry,the channel. Partners who have interacted with him point to Kafkarkou's ability to rise to a challenge and his keen business sense as drivers of CA's ongoing channel evolution. "He is turning around a very giant ship, and I believe he's doing it successfully," said Michelle Drolet, CEO of Conqwest, a Holliston, Mass., security VAR. "Their channel support has improved, making it a lot easier to get pricing; the training is great; and the new incentives don't hurt either."
-- Christina Torode

Citrix Systems channel chief Ross Brown has had his work cut out for him over the past year. He calls himself "VP of the hard stuff" but says his is a good job to have.

Now the world's 15th largest software supplier with $500 million in annual revenue in 2002, Citrix's secure access software has made serious inroads into enterprises that have advocated centralized sever-based computing and are supporting a growing population of telecommuters and mobile workers. With that good fortune came increased business complexity and the need for change within Citrix's channel program, said Brown, a one-year veteran of Citrix who previously held management positions at several consulting companies as well as at Network Associates, IBM and Tech Data.

During the past 12 months, Citrix pruned its reseller base by 900, engaging only the most active partners to ensure high service levels to enterprise customers, Brown said. The company has also worked more closely with ISVs and government-oriented solution providers, and it has forged tighter, formal alliances with IBM Global Services and HP Services, which now have in-house practices devoted to secure access software. All this, while teaching partners and Citrix's internal sales force how to sell an expanded line of products.

Brown is driving several initiatives being launched next year to help partners fend off fiscal pressure from volume resellers. These include transferring Citrix Consulting Services methodologies to partners, an expanded rebate program, and additional incentives for selling MetaFrame Access Suite. Citrix's new agentlike model, slated for early in 2004, will fork over between 4 points and 16 points to partners that influence any deal, sources said.
-- Paula Rooney

Thomas Valiante hopes the right direction to grow Hitachi Data Systems' channel business is true north.

Valiante says the vendor's channel business has grown at a steady clip over the past four years and now accounts for 40 percent of North America revenue. But he is betting that the combination of its TrueNorth Solutions Alliance solution provider program with a field-sales force rewarded only on channel sales will fuel even more growth.

The TrueNorth Solutions Alliance provides consistent MDFs and rebates to solution providers. More importantly, channel field reps live or die by how well solution providers perform. "We have realigned North America sales to have 85 men and women face our resellers, and the only way they get compensated is by selling through a partner," Valiante said.

Hitachi Data Systems solution providers say they've benefited from the changes under Valiante.

"Organizationally, things have improved since Tom's been around," said Mark Teter, CTO of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based solution provider. "We cover half the country, and we have one [Hitachi Data Systems] channel manager assigned to us, while most of the time with other vendors we have to deal with two people. [HItachi Data Systems] has good channel focus and discipline."

Valiante's top channel goal in the next 12 months is to increase partner coverage in the accounts the vendor no longer calls upon.

"We now have a large number of accounts that are channel-only accounts, and we need to get in with our partners as a team to reinforce this as the only way to go to market today," he said.
-- Craig Zarley