New IBM Software Exec Sees Maximizing Channel Partner Opportunities As Job-One

Often times newly appointed channel executives find themselves faced with the task of assembling the components of a channel program from scratch or rebuilding a failed channel effort.

That's not the challenge facing Mark Register, IBM's recently appointed vice president of software business partners and midmarket. With a broad software product portfolio swelled by acquisitions, a clear roadmap of targeted growth markets and a stable of thousands of channel partners, Register's job is bringing it all together to make sure IBM and its partners can capture what he sees as a wealth of opportunities.

"How do we ensure that the right messages and technical enablement are carried down to our partners and their customers," said Register, summing up the work before him. Register took on his new post six weeks ago, taking over from Sandy Carter who was named vice president for social business evangelism within the IBM Lotus Division.

In the highly visible job Register is responsible for worldwide cross-company sales and marketing for the business partner channel for IBM's Software Group, essentially making him the company's software channel chief. He reports to Bob Picciano, general manager of software sales.

Register previously managed IBM's business analytics and optimization software business in growth-market countries in Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Prior to that he managed the IBM Cognos business intelligence software business and IBM's Information on Demand initiative in IBM Asia-Pacific.

NEXT: Leveraging IBM's Software Acquisitions

Register came to IBM in 2005 when the company acquired Ascential Software, the data integration technology vendor where Register was chief marketing officer and head of industry solutions and global alliances. Earlier he held posts at Mercator Software and Computer Sciences Corp. "I've been acquired four times in my career," he jokes.

Having worked both in channel management and for solution providers, Register said he has a good perspective on the needs of IBM's channel partners and recognizes the value they provide. "I've seen the value of the channel in really sharp focus," he said.

Register, a native of New Zealand, has been traveling around the globe meeting with IBM partners since taking on his new post. "I've seen a lot of different parts of our business around the world," he said. "I've been getting a good understanding of what's been working and what needs fine tuning."

While the feedback he's been getting from partners is "stay the course," Register said there's always room for improvement, including making sure partners have the right level of technical support and ensuring they have what they need to take advantage of the cross-sell opportunities provided by IBM's software product portfolio.

The executive said his goal is to make sure partners have "a lot of air cover" and resources to expand into IBM's four targeted growth areas: business analytics, cloud computing, high-growth countries such as Brazil and China, and IBM's "Smarter Planet" initiative. "I think those represent massive opportunities for our partners," Register said

Register oversees the expanding partner "authorization" initiative, part of the Software Value Plus program, through which resellers become certified in such technology areas as security, social networking and cloud computing, as well as in vertical industries. "We're seeing customers [increasingly] look for solutions that have the vertical industry component," Register said. "This is the way customers buy today."

And Register is working to get the most – from a channel perspective – out of IBM's seemingly endless string of software acquisitions. That means helping to bring solution providers who worked with such acquired companies as Unica and Coremetrics into the IBM partner fold, as well as identifying IBM partners who have the right skills -- or the potential to develop them -- to add those acquired products to their own offerings.

Last month the company created an e-commerce authorization for partners built around the Unica, Sterling Commerce and Coremetrics acquisitions.