Gilroy Challenges Channel Companies To Adapt

Gilroy spoke in a keynote address at TechXNY, held at New York City's Javits Center. (TechXNY is produced by CMP Media, parent company of VARBusiness.)

"History commands that we change," Gilroy explained, reviewing 200 years of technological change and the efforts of organizations to keep up. At this point, though, "it's too early to say what technologies will wind up defining our era."

On a more practical note, Gilroy urged solution providers to learn their customers' business processes to enhance the solutions and services they offer. Gilroy, a long-time channel veteran who until recently was HP's channel chief for the Americas, said he knew "some resellers who can play the role of CIO to small businesses--but not nearly enough of them."

When small and midsize companies "need tech expertise, they go to the channelt o get it on demand. This is what small and midsize businesses want and need--a trusted local adviser and partner that can deliver solutions," according to Gilroy. To do so, the channel should focus on developing vertical expertise--to learn to "speak the SMB manager's language."

For end-user customers, the challenge is to keep up with the rate of change--occurring fastest in the smallest organizations.

"Business strategy must define IT strategy," Gilroy said. It's something everyone knows, he allowed, but "in reality the practice is rarely seen" in most organizations. In the typical organization, "IT simply owns a budget, not a strategy. Leaders must include IT in the strategic planning process" to survive.

Manufacturers, including HP, have to change as well.

"We need to offer better training and tools around strategic selling," as well as "minimize what's required for partners to do business with HP." Gilroy even suggested that vendors need to learn "many to many marketing" where they develop the capacity to not only partner with solution providers, but with other manufacturers to offer solutions. "No one vendor offers all the products and services that even the smallest business needs," he said.

For every business, Gilroy concluded, success depends on having a "strong will to succeed and challenge the status quo," along with a ceaseless process of prioritization and focus. He struck a chord with many in the audience when he noted, "multitasking is a recipe for shoddy work and stress."