Technology Reseller - v13 2018

01732 759725 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 34 M-Files extends its reach M-Files UK gears up with further growth with new partner programme for M-Files, but aren’t yet ready to take that big step into becoming a reseller. In fact, they may never want to. Putting a referral program in place allows those organisations to partner with us in a slightly looser way and still monetise the opportunity they have within their installed base. We provide generous terms for referral partners that pass on an opportunity for M-Files s to service with our direct sales team and our own delivery organisation. More interestingly, these is also a co-sell component of the referral programme, under which we provide more generous commissions to partners that sell alongside us into their customer organisations. They still benefit from having an M-Files direct sales person alongside them all the way through to completion; they still benefit from the M-Files delivery network; they still benefit from highly skilled M-Files pre-sales guys. But they remain engaged with their customer all the way through the process. It blurs the line between channel and direct and provides a formulation for companies to engage with their installed base or other opportunities while leaning on the M-Files centre of expertise in the UK. TR: What sort of feedback have you had from the channel about the new programme? TW: It’s been very positive across the board. Our existing resellers see this as another string to their bow and we expect them to sign up referral agreements when they identify an opportunity that they may not be in a position to service, because it is at the wrong end of the country, for example, or outside their domain of expertise. They can choose to go down any route with any opportunity: they can refer it; they can co-sell with us; or they can go through the traditional reseller route. In new conversations, many partners Following UK growth of 78% in the last 12 months and the launch of the M-Files 2018 intelligent information management system, M-files is gearing up for further growth with a new UK leadership team (see box below); unified reporting (and targets) for channel and direct sales; and an enhanced partner programme, including, for the first time, referral and co-sell agreements. To find out more, Technology Reseller Editor James Goulding spoke to the newly promoted Director of UK Business Tim Waterton. Technology Reseller (TR) : Were these changes prompted by feedback from existing channel partners? Tim Waterton (TW): To a certain extent. We have had a strong channel in the UK, but until now it has consisted essentially of resellers. They have driven their business successfully, with 100% compound growth over the last three years, but we recognise that the channel opportunity doesn’t lie solely with resellers. The challenge for resellers is they have to fulfil the full function of a technology company: they need to market and generate opportunity; they have to have sales skills and pre-sales skills to execute and develop those opportunities and demonstrate capability to a prospect; they have to have the skills to deploy that solution, so they need a services and delivery organisation behind them; and they need a support operation behind that as well. Clearly, to come on board as a reseller requires quite a substantial investment in terms of training, certification, headcount, the whole nine yards. Many organisations are involved in markets that have great opportunities see co-sell as the best way to start their relationship with M-Files, while we see it as an on-ramp to re-sell. It’s very easy for people to start as a referral partner, with referral and co-sell terms. Then, as we learn together and the volume of business grows, this may or may not mature into a full re-sell relationship, depending on the level of expertise and the depth of investment they wish to make. TR: Were you missing out on opportunities with the old structure and, if so, in what areas? TW: Yes, we were. A big strength of the new programme is that it will allow us to partner with organisations that have very specific vertical market expertise. In certain vertical markets, there will be a whole set of terminology, capability and understanding that we, as an ECM provider, don’t have in-house. We do align our sales team by vertical market and we do have reasonable expertise, but at the end of the day, you never have the depth of knowledge that a specialist in a particular sector will have. They understand the eco-system of the market they work in in a way that is hard for us to achieve quickly. So, for us, the new programme is an accelerator. TR: What sort of impact do you think the referral model will have on the balance between channel and direct sales? TW: We are still dominant on the direct side. We are probably looking for 50% growth on our organic resell business this year and 100% growth on the direct software side of the house. We see the new referral model generating close to 20% of the overall UK number this year. Including the referral side, we are looking for an overall channel contribution of 35-40%. TR: Is there anything about M-Files 2018 Continued... New M-Files UK Leadership Team Julian Cook, former Director of UK Business, has been promoted to Vice President of Global Direct Sales, taking on global responsibility for the direct sales teams and working closely with the existing Vice President of Channel Sales, Scott Erickson. Tim Waterton , previously UK and Ireland Channel Manager, has stepped into the role of Director of UK Business, with overall responsibility for the UK sales and marketing operation. Jason Arundel has been promoted to Director of UK Sales, responsible for managing the UK direct sales team.  Mark Eost, previously head of the Professional Services team at Canon, has joined as Partner Manager UK & Ireland, with responsibility for developing and growing the M-Files channel.   Tim Waterton Julian Cook