CHANNEL CHIEF
ELIE MIKHAEL , Regional Channel and Alliance Director , CEMEA , SAS , describes his management philosophy as being geared towards inspiring others , by empowering , supporting and making them dream big . Mikhael talks about his current channel position at US-headquartered statistical , analytics and business intelligence software suite developer SAS .
DDescribe your current job role and the parts that are somewhat challenging ?
In my role , I lead the channel and alliances organisation at SAS across Russia , Central Europe , Middle East and Africa ( CEMEA ). Across the region , there is an evident shift towards expediting technological change , with data as a constant , key factor in the equation . I am privileged to work with a group of world-class executives , the savviest players in the analytics ecosystem that help accelerate value creation by doubling down on channel partners and global system integrators .
With such a diverse stakeholder and customer landscape , we aggressively work towards adapting our overall solution and service offering to deliver a better customer transformation experience , geared towards their needs .
Can you explain how your company works with channel partners ?
SAS history of partnering dates back to our inception when we analysed agricultural data to improve crop yields , funded by the National Institute of Health and NC State University . Throughout our more than 40 years in existence , SAS has partnered seamlessly with global system integrators , consulting firms and local system integrators .
SAS engages with channel partners via multiple streams , unlocking opportunity and growth , in both straightforward sell-through and sell-with approaches . In recent years , we have also introduced new streams of engagement . For example , Managed Analytic
Services Providers ( MASP ) are customers or partners that integrate SAS technology with their intellectual property to create hosted analytics solutions . MASPs are becoming increasingly important in today ’ s analytics market because they provide flexible solutions and industry-specific offerings .
I have been geared towards inspiring others , by empowering , supporting and making them dream big .
How do you ensure channel partners flourish in a highly competitive market ?
The analytics market and AI is booming . The world today generates more data in just two days than it did from the dawn of civilisation until 2003 ! This represents a plethora of opportunities to engage with potential partners .
In a competitive market , the race among companies to stand out is fierce and we have to innovate to allow our partners to be the first to stand out . This is why we have created a specialisation programme that gives partners access to unique training across various domains . For example , upon entering and completing the programme ,
Elie Mikhael , Regional Channel and Alliance Director , CEMEA , SAS
INTELLIGENT
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS TECH CHANNELS Issue 39 63