Nutanix, a hybrid multi-cloud computing service provider, offers customers simple and flexible software solutions and seamless storage offerings. The Integrator engages Christian Alvarez, Senior VP – Worldwide Channels, and Adam Tarbox, VP – Channel Sales EMEA at Nutanix in a conversation regarding their enhancing partnership and regional focus.

Q&A with Christian Alvarez

What should channel partners do to remain relevant and successful in a Hybrid Multicloud World?

We see customers’ reliance on and expectations for enterprise cloud capabilities intensifying. Many are building the future of their businesses on hybrid multi-cloud IT operations, which blend private and public cloud services. This paradigm shift in customer expectations and cloud acceleration is leading prudent service providers into new partnerships.

You can’t do it alone. Scaling a business and sustaining profitability requires working on creating partnerships that give customers a simpler way to drive their digital transformation. That involves consulting, design, new products, integration, customization, and 24×7 support. Partnerships can provide the expertise needed to promote, sell, design, integrate, customize, deploy and support new applications on-premises, in the public cloud, or hybrid cloud architectures.

That’s what’s behind the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program. It helps providers pursue partnerships that can improve customer experiences, competitiveness, and profitability. There’s no minimum commitment or cost to service providers to join the program, which allows carriers of all sizes to participate.

How have you updated your channel program to align with modern-day trends?

“Channel Autonomy” is one of our key objectives when it comes to our channel program. We wish to empower our channel ecosystem so that they can independently drive our business with minimal involvement from our sales team. We want to train them and make them true champions of Nutanix and in this way the partner and distribution community will be a true extension of our company. 

Q&A with Adam Tarbox

What are some of your immediate priorities in your role?

The key priority at the moment is on building on the existing deep relationships we have with partners.

We are also focusing our efforts on being even easier to do business with by investing in the simplification and automation of our processes to allow partners to transact faster. Another area of focus is enabling each partner’s differentiation with a platform that enables partners to build not only traditional deployment services but also stand-up new practice areas. When it comes to DevOps or AI, this can provide sources of competitive differentiation as well as faster time to market of new offerings.

What is Nutanix’s mission or goal in EMEA?

Our mission in EMEA is the same as our overall corporate mission which is to ‘Delight customers with a simple, open, hybrid, and multi-cloud software platform with rich data services to build, run, and manage any application’. Our vision is to “Make clouds invisible, freeing customers to focus on their business outcomes.”

What are some of the main challenges facing you and the business today?

The past year has brought many changes to the channel partner ecosystem and subscription and consumption are on everyone’s mind. This is creating uncertainty for the channel ecosystem as it looks for new ways to sustain profitability. Many vendors have announced that they are moving towards subscription but haven’t provided insight to partners on what this means aside from some new incentives. As many vendors have taken renewals ‘direct’ – we have not and will not, we have always and will continue to be committed to the channel and our distribution partners.