Channel Partners Conference & Expo is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Who joined us in Vegas this March? And what did they think? Access the post-show report >>
Craig: “All right. Hey, again, everyone. Channel Futures Editorial Director Craig Galbraith here. Looking forward to the upcoming Channel Partners Conference and Expo and MSP Summit taking place March 11th through the 14th at the Venetian in Las Vegas.”
“Excited today to be talking with Kyle Fenske. Kyle is Director of the North American Channel at Scale Computing, a sponsor and exhibitor of the MSP Summit portion of the event. Kyle, how are you doing?”
Kyle: “I'm living the dream, Craig. Thanks for having me.”
Craig: “You and me both, Kyle. So partners who've been exploring other solutions might be a little worried about the transition process. Wondering if you could give us some insights into how you consider it to be really easy to switch over to Scale Computing?
Kyle: “Yeah, it's a great topic, one we've been having many conversations around lately, especially with the VMware acquisition going on. Many partners are looking for that next solution that they can work with. And through that process, this question has come up a lot.”
“But the best thing about scale computing is we really built simplicity into the DNA of the product that we brought to market here. So with that in mind, we wanted to make sure that when we were rolling this out to everyone, we wanted to give everyone a quick path so that they could either go through and make the transition from a partnership standpoint all the way down into the product itself. We even went through and built live migration options. So there's a couple of different options, whether it's in the product itself or through additional tools that OEM. But we wanted to make sure that that process was also simple and easy for partners to take advantage of.”
Craig: “So let's talk more about being a true partner. Can you tell us a bit more about how scale computing engages with partners and maybe what your overall go to market approach is?”
Kyle: “Sure. So when we started going down this path, Jeff Reedy, our CEO, was very big on the partnership side of things. So he knew how important the channel was. So we are 100% channel focused. We want to make sure that when we're working with partners, they feel comfortable knowing that opportunities aren't going to be taken directly or shifted to other partners. So when people come to us, we want to make sure that we stay very close with them.
And you always have that channel first mentality.”
“We even took it a step further and made sure that our sales team also goes through this channel first mentality. So they get compensated on helping that partner win, not necessarily on just the deal itself. So it's all about working with the partners to make sure that they have what they need to be successful.”
Craig: “As a news guy, I like this next question because I've heard some exciting news about a new discount program for new partners with you guys. Can you tell us a little more?”
Kyle: “Yeah, absolutely. Recognizing what's going on in the industry, we wanted to make sure that we put enough of the discounts and the incentives out there to make sure that partners could feel comfortable going to their end customers and providing a solution that they could then grow with as a whole.”
“We have a few different things in place, but the big one that's making the traction nowadays is the 25% discount that we're offering for VMware customers to come over to scale computing. Now, that's 25% we're putting back down in the channel through the partnerships from that standpoint. But we also decided to layer on another incentive for the end user itself. So say they have a year left of VMware. We want to make sure that we help them with that transition and they're not out that additional money. So if a partner has... one year left of VMware, then we will go through and we'll extend that additional year onto the end of their contract. So we're really trying to put enough incentive down through the partners to make sure that they feel comfortable going to their customers today and saying: ‘we have a new solution for you.
You don't have to worry about the renewal that's coming’. And we're really passionate about what we took to market here.”
Craig: Yeah, that VMware story and the alternatives that are out there like yourselves is one we've been watching carefully. So Kyle, let's talk a little bit about the event. So what's maybe the overall message you want partners you interact with to walk away with?”
Kyle: “Yeah, I think the big thing that I'd love to talk to more people about is just we're an alternative out there that many people probably don't know about yet. And I think they should come and just hear the story, see the solution itself, especially from our MSP community. We've built a program around the MSP, and how they go to market.”
“So we want to make sure that we can support them as they grow and as they take it to their customers themselves. So the big thing is come say hi, come see what we're doing. We'll be at booth MSP 41 and we'd love to see everyone there.”
Craig: “All right. We look forward to seeing you, Kyle. Great talking with you today. Look forward to seeing you here in just a few weeks and thanks for Scale Computing support of our event.”
Kyle: “Awesome. Thank you, Craig.”