Following his keynote at last month's XChange Solution Provider 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla., CRN sat down with IBM's Bill Donohue to discuss the three areas where IBM is trying to transform its business: cloud, mobility and analytics. Referring to these areas as "high-value" solutions, Donohue views the cloud, and the fact that buying patterns for cloud technologies are extending beyond the IT shop, as the biggest opportunity for IBM and its partners. "Cloud really gives you the biggest growth. About a $27 billion business in 2013, we think it is going to grow about 21 percent," Donohue said.
Donohue also touched on how IBM is using partner feedback as a catalyst for driving change in the way it does business. By concentrating on three specific initiatives -- field engagement, lead generation and lead pass, and ease of doing business -- IBM hopes to create a channel structure that focuses more on selling with partners, rather than selling through partners.
PUBLISHED APRIL 8, 2013
