CHANNEL CHIEF
EUROPE
Technology which focuses on Business Continuity will be crucial as the
world adapts to the new normal. MAYA ZAKHOUR, Channel Director
– MEA, Italy & Spain, NetApp, speaks about her new expanded job role and
the importance of Business Continuity during the pandemic.
D
Describe your current job
role and the parts that are
somewhat challenging?
I have recently taken on an expanded role as
Channel Director for NetApp in the Middle
East and Africa, Italy and Spain. In this new
role, I work closely with in-country channel
leaders, distributors and alliances to build
a stronger partner ecosystem, increase
NetApp’s footprint and grow the business
across my new territories. In the current
economic climate, getting the channel
community back on track in the hardest hit
countries like Italy and Spain is a challenge
that I will be working hard to address, along
with my team.
Can you explain how your company
works with channel partners?
As an organisation that partners closely with
the channel, we are committed to enabling
our channel community with the necessary
tools to help grow the business. Our recently
enhanced, industry-leading Unified Partner
Programme aligns with our partners’ business
capabilities and models and will be simplified
and expanded to deliver a consistent
programme experience, enable Digital
Transformation for customers, accelerate
partner profitability and provide partners
with a predictable business environment.
While COVID-19 has presented some
significant challenges to the supply chain,
NetApp has proactively helped partners
deliver solutions to customers. We have a
strong financial programme to help partners
to not only cope with delay in payments
but also provide them with stability and
maintain profitability. The most important
part of NetApp’s channel strategy is our
commitment to ensure partner profitability,
ease of doing business and fostering the best
relationships by investing in growth through
a programme that is simple, compelling and
rewards partners for expanding into existing
customers and into new growth opportunities.
In these difficult times, we are enabling
partners to build a NetApp-focused services
practice, to expand margin opportunity and
offer the best return on their partnership.
How do you ensure channel
partners flourish in a highly
competitive market?
A key part of my role is to encourage partners
to secure their installed base, engage our
strategy partners to leverage NetApp’s
converged offerings and drive cloud adoption
I have learned to be
clear about how my
work will fit into the
company’s goals.
to adapt to a remote-working model to
ensure Business Continuity. NetApp has
moved beyond being known only as a storage
vendor to establishing ourselves as the leader
in cloud data services. Our partners have
access to NetApp’s industry-leading solutions
portfolio and have ample prospects for
growth if they recognise it. With TCO and ROI
becoming the key terms for investments, the
channel has huge opportunity to capitalise
on the data consumption model through our
hyperscale partners. As customers change
their approval processes, it is important
Maya Zakhour, Channel Director –
MEA, Italy & Spain, NetApp
INTELLIGENT
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 32
TECH CHANNELS
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