AUGUST

CONTENTS 1
August
REGULARS
INTERVIEWS
4 Editorial
60 Products
62 Apps
64 Community
COLUMNS
36 Gartner Column
Gartner’s Mark Paine speaks about the pros of
joint business planning for channel partners and
how business planning with strategic vendors
result in closer alignments.
6 Insight Enterprise
Irrespective of size or stature, even the global
players in the game can’t go it alone. ARN
Editor, James Henderson, uncovers why Insight
Enterprises are prioritising partnering.
10 In collaboration we trust
Insentra’s Ronnie Altit speaks to ARN about why
teaming up in the tech space revolves around
the notion of trust and how resellers that remain
grounded by a deep distrust of coopetition will
not survive.
10
22
28
44
38 Channel Coaching – Marketing
tips for partners
How can partners enable growth through new strategies
and approaches? ARN’s HOLLY MORGAN speaks to
Radial Consulting’s Vanessa Curtis to find out how.
40 Partner round-up – NT
The Northern Territory might be associated with
slow, remote developments but channel partners
see customer demand in the region. They also
speak of challenges they face in terms of staffing,
while trying to diversify service offerings.
42 The secret reseller
This new column is the voice of the channel. Partners
anonymously voice their views about the channel
and lift the lid on the real world of the channel.
52 The Hot List
Each month this column looks at partners on the
upward move - these are the companies to watch.
54 Thought leadership
Mark Jones elaborates on what Management By
Sitting Around is and how c-level management
can use it to their advantage.
ANALYSIS
26 Collaboration is the new One
Stop Shop
Tech Research Asia’s Mark Iles delves into how
important collaboration is for the tech industry,
especially with shifting attitudes and behaviours
part due to the rapid emergence of a new breed of
Cloud vendors and partners.
32 Inside IBM’s Cloud mantra
After 17 straight quarter of losses, IBM is on the
move towards a positive turnaround. ARN’s JAMES
HENDERSON assesses how providing cognitive, Cloud,
and choice could enable a yield of positive results.
22 Creating a collaborative channel
Microsoft’s Phil Goldie examines the dynamic
of a changing channel in Australia and how
partner-to-partner collaboration should be
adopted in times of change, encouraged by
leading global visionaries.
28 Maintaining a local touch: Think
global, act local
Exclusive Networks’ Dominic Whitehand speaks
to ARN about how the distributor has maintained
its local touch two years on since being acquired
by a billion-dollar French distributor.
FEATURES
14 Is the channel better together?
One might think that there’s no denying that
there is a need for partners to collaborate to
increase productivity. ARN tests this theory with
resellers, assessing the pros and cons of channel
collaboration in Australia.
44 Shaking up storage – How can
partners play a winning hand?
Whether it be the rise of upcoming industry
players, increased vendor consolidation or new
technology advancements, the traditional storage
market is shaking to its foundations.
56 Finding the true value in flash
As the market for flash storage evolves, a
new direction of travel for storage is created
for the coming years. ARN’s HAFIZAH OSMAN
examines the latest flash storage solutions and
market trends, along with the growing partner
opportunities in this space
arnnet.com.au | AUGUST 2016 |