CHANNEL CHIEF
MARIE NALTY , Channel and Alliances Manager , Australia and New Zealand , Apptio , a US-based company founded in 2007 that develops technology business management software-as-a-service applications . Nalty ’ s management philosophy focuses on clarity and win-win for partners . She is very clear and direct on painting a vision of the desired outcome with Apptio ’ s channel partners . Nalty explains to us how Apptio is growing its investments and developing its channel business in Australia and New Zealand .
DDescribe your current job role and the parts that are somewhat challenging ?
My role is to build and grow a successful set of partners that deliver the coverage and complementary services to help Apptio expand our customer presence in Australia and New Zealand . The interest of the role is that it is challenging : Apptio has three complementary products sets which centre on financial management for existing workloads , cloud-specific workloads and future financial planning , respectively . We see different partners playing different roles , and to successfully support the Apptio business , Australia and New Zealand expansion , and commitment to the technology business management ( TBM ) framework , I need a small portfolio of strategic partners for each product set , with the right profile , capabilities and customer focus .
Focus is the key word here – I need to stay focused to identify , recruit , onboard and develop the right set of partners that have both the appetite and capability to repeatedly generate joint business across Apptio ’ s solutions portfolio .
Can you explain how your company works with channel partners ?
A few of our partners generate a margin from reselling our software but typically , we look to our partners to influence the tool selection among end user customers and to generate a variety of services around those opportunities . We have specific influence commissions to support this .
These services cover all parts of the lifecycle , from initial consulting or presales engagements to implementation and configuration . There is then a long-tail opportunity for our partners with services relating to the ongoing management of the platform and related processes . Apptio has chosen to be selective in the services we offer in the region and reserve this opportunity for our partners .
We also ensure that our sales reps ’ compensation is neutral , whether a partner is involved or not in the opportunity . This drives the right behaviour as our reps are incentivised to use all internal and external resources to close opportunities and ensure partner and customer satisfaction .
How do you ensure channel partners flourish in a highly competitive market ?
With a small number of strategic and differentiated partners , Apptio is able to service wider segments of the market while avoiding channel conflict .
We select our partners carefully , primarily on their ability to generate services revenue from our platform , ensuring that our partners view Apptio as an innovative , reliable , viable and profitable solution .
What are the latest trends you see emerging across the channel ?
The channel is evolving from traditional transacting partners to a range of new models . I always find it interesting to watch the innovation displayed by the various
Marie Nalty , Channel and Alliances Manager , Australia and New Zealand , Apptio
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 46 63