CHANNEL CHIEF
OSSAMA ELDEEB is Senior Director , South EMEA Partner Organisation , VMware , an American cloud computing and virtualisation technology company with headquarters in California . Eldeeb talks about his current job role and how VMware is working with the whole partner ecosystem comprising distributors and solution providers , and cementing its channel business across South Europe , Middle East and Africa ( EMEA ).
Describe your current job role and the parts that are somewhat challenging ?
My broad role involves working with my team to develop and execute the engagement strategy within our partner organisations across the South EMEA region , MEA , France , Italy and Iberia .
Servicing a lot of different markets with different maturity levels and nuances that are specific to local markets can be both a challenge and a fantastic opportunity . Our first challenge is that we cannot apply a one-size-fits-all strategy to every market , which also means that we need to innovate and think outside-the-box to create initiatives that take the market characteristics into consideration .
The most challenging aspect is to find a strategy that removes the hurdles and simplifies the game . As you move up the management ladder and are responsible for a bigger , more dispersed team including partners across multiple countries , the challenge becomes finding a direction that streamlines processes without slowing down the momentum . The secret is to keep it simple . The direction needs to be logical and realistic , but it must be clear and identifiable to the rest of the team . This way you can anticipate issues and remove unnecessary roadblocks from the process .
Can you explain how your company works with channel partners ?
Our partners are an extension of us , and we work hand in hand to give customers the right level of coverage . For us , no matter how big the team is within the organisation , we cannot scale or grow fast enough to cover the rapidly growing customer landscape . Our partner becomes the extended arm to fill that demand . We choose partners that have the right level of skills and knowledge to mirror our quality and extend our services . Finding the right partner is not easy because this requires an investment in training and continuous practice to ensure that they have the same level of expertise that all our people have , and for their team to be deeply involved in
Servicing a lot of different markets with different maturity levels and nuances that are specific to local markets can be both a challenge and a fantastic opportunity .
the business so that it becomes easy for them to become our extended sales arm .
The involvement of our partners in our business is key to a successful partnership because I believe in the famous saying : ‘ Tell me and I forget , teach me and I may remember , involve me and I learn .’ We engage our partners in opportunities and
Ossama Eldeeb , Senior Director , South EMEA Partner Organisation , VMware
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 49 61