Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 09 | Page 28

FUTURE TECHNOLOGY value added distributor, points out, “The bigger driver is individuals seeking an introduction to the world of cybersecurity, as a result of which we see interest in Foundational Training courses. The availability of a training budget is a dominant inhibitor and a sense of urgency to complete the training is another.” According to Anuj Jain, Director of Services, StarLink, a security value added distributor, “Some of the main inhibitors are a lack of budget for user training and a lack of awareness on local knowledge- based resources provided by vendors.” 64 per cent of respondents in a global study, carried out by the Technical University of Munich and SAP, felt that their company’s personnel did not possess the skills necessary for successful digital transformation. Chris Gale, EMEA Partner Director, A10 Networks, an enterprise grade security vendor, explains that training is an essential part of enabling partners to position and sell its technology. “Locally, we are seeing significant growth and need to ensure end customers receive the best possible help in solving problems. Products from A10 Networks integrate with other 28 vendors’ technology and we need to make sure our partners understand the combined solution.” On the flip side, lack of availability of highly skilled engineers employed by channel partners is an inhibitor. There is also a hidden cost of taking out highly skilled engineers from commercial projects to attend training sessions. Jason Roos, Channel and Alliances Director at Mimecast, a cloud email security vendor, explains why the vendor has been investing in the training of its channel partners. “We believe the best channel programmes succeed when partners have space to create value in the customer life cycle. We believe that by enabling partners, we help them better support their customers when moving to and consuming our services. As we evolve our products and introduce updates, enhancements and new products frequently, it is important that our partners are equipped to deliver value to the customer in the pre-sales, sales and support steps of the journey.” On the other hand, pulling out time is always a challenge for a channel partner, and prioritising time for vendor product training is sometimes difficult for them. This is one of the reasons why Mimecast has also created bite-sized training content, and short certification examinations. Challenges According to Mohammed Sabry, Head of Services, Gulf and Near East, Ingram Micro, “The lack of funds and road maps,” is an inhibitor for training programmes. “We initiate on a quarterly basis attractive promotions for our partners, to ease their financial pressure on the required investments to achieve the training that is mandatory to run their business. We also support our vendors in co-campaigning to achieve the same.” Peter Oganesean, Country Sales Manager, HP Inc, points out that one of the main drivers for channel partner training activities is the opportunity for partners to grow and increase market knowledge in the region. Channel partners look for information they need to successfully represent product offerings to buyers at all stages in the buying process. Vendors that host consistent training activities will ensure their partners have access to updated collateral and help them increase mindshare for their products and services over the competition. We continuously work with partners to skill them up and enable them to progress to the next partner status where they can leverage more benefits. However, their progress is dependent on the investment from their side. However, working with channel partners such as resellers and system integrators comes with a unique set of challenges; the most problematic of which is typically the inherent knowledge gap. “From their peculiar position, where partners oscillate between the inside and outside of a given business, channel partners typically do not receive the immersive internal training foisted upon traditional employees, and they often struggle to perform as a result,” elaborates Peter Oganesean, Country Sales Manager, HP Inc.  Issue 09 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS