Print.IT Reseller - issue 54

26 01732 759725 PARTNER PROGRAMME M-Files’ focus is on reinforcing its position as an innovative, fast growing information management solutions provider. To this end, the company has made a number of changes to its senior management team and recruited a new partner manager, moves it says will help to manage the growing sales team, support local strategic initiatives, as well as underpin the launch of the new partner programme. Moves and changes 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. 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. Additionally, Mark Eost has been appointed Partner Manager UK & Ireland. He will be responsible for ensuring the ongoing success of the M-Files channel, in addition to forging relationships with a range of new partners. He brings over 15 years’ experience in the capture and document management sector and most recently worked for Canon UK, heading up the professional services team for its information management solutions. A joined-up approach Historically, M-Files’ go to market strategy in the UK was split between direct and indirect sales. Cook headed up the direct side of the business and Waterton looked after the channel operations. “The channel and direct sales operations operated as two separate business and we reported down separate lines,”Waterton explained. The company is now piloting a joined- up approach which will see the channel and direct sales team working closely together with aligned goals and targets. In common with most technology vendors, M-Files’ channel traditionally has been comprised of resellers and VARs. “However last year, we worked on a number of substantial deals that were effectively sourced from the channel but where the end customer needed to have line of sight with the product author. So essentially, we delivered the solutions into the end client and the partners received a margin,”Waterton explained, adding: “That was extremely successful and highlighted the opportunity that in many cases partner organisations don’t necessarily have all of the components in place to invest in becoming an M-Files’ reseller or VAR straight out of the box.” Waterton says that there are four skills or components associated with delivering content management solution like M-Files into an end customer. “First of all you’ve got to identify PrintIT Reseller caught up with M-Files’ Director of UK Business Tim Waterton, to find out more about the company’s plans to launch a brand new unified go-to-market partner programme for the UK and Ireland M-Files to pilot enhanced partner programme in UK and Ireland the potential customer – that’s the marketing challenge; you then have to sell the solution both commercially and technically, and then there is the implementation – effectively going through the configuration and deployment stages and finally, there’s the provision of ongoing support.” He continued: “The reality is that most organisations simply are not set up to provide all of those capabilities out of the box – particularly for a third-party product. Probably the only companies that have all or the majority of those components in place are people who are set up deliberately to be resellers. If you’re in any other area, dealing with customers, in all probability you will miss some of that stuff. We know that there are many potential partners who are talking to companies that we could be incredibly relevant to. Some of these could be really well placed to handle the marketing side but are far less developed on the implementation and support side. Equally, there are partners who specialise in implementation and support, but their core skillset is not in marketing and sales.” Addressing the middle ground Waterton said that with many of these partners or potential partners already The company is now piloting a joined-up approach which will see the channel and direct sales team working closely together with aligned goals and targets Tim Waterton

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