Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 62 | Page 62

The channel continues to play a strategically vital role in Zebra ’ s route to market strategy . data capture solutions around barcode scanning . These technologies are still in great demand across industries and Zebra products are tried and tested , reliable and get the job done .
In terms of innovations , Zebra has increasingly moved into retail software , machine vision and robotics automation . We acquired a number of companies including Adaptive Vision , Reflexis , antuit . ai , Fetch Robotics and Matrox Imaging , to expand and enrich our portfolio and offerings to customers .
These innovations are reflected in current and new relationships with partners and new advanced tier machine vision , SaaS and mobile robotics partner specialisation tracks . Our focus is not just technology , but also how we engage with our end-customers to get a better understanding of their problems and bring a holistic view of the whole situation , while offering a real business outcome for the end-customer .
How can a channel partner disrupt the regional market and gain a leading competitive position ?
I ’ d encourage potential channel partners to talk to me and our teams locally . Our Zebra PartnerConnect program makes it easier for partners to work with Zebra and differentiate themselves while rewarding partners for commitment , competency and performance .
Zebra ’ s PartnerConnect program is focused on opportunity , profitability and simplicity for channel partners and has been designed to accomplish three strategic goals : encourage and enable sales across the entire product , services and solutions
The technology channel is still a people business where relationships matter . portfolio ; reward and support partners differently based on their business model and growth strategy ; and develop new market opportunities and profitable revenue streams .
Which aspects of your job role do you find rewarding and challenging ?
Growing current channel relationships , creating new relationships and working with channel partners on solutions customers want and need are all top rewards for me . I also lead lots of teams and support career development , sharing experience and helping newer members of the team and those early in their careers to thrive is also rewarding . The most important part of my role that is equally rewarding and challenging is leading projects together with different teams to prepare Zebra for future growth .
How do you best like to de-stress and re-charge after work ?
Even though I travel a lot for work , my main de-stresser and way of re-charging outside work is my wonderful family – my wife and our two daughters and two sons . We like to spend time together travelling , playing sports and , for me personally , I like to run and cycle as a way to stay fit .
How do you think time-off will transform in the metaverse and in the digital world ?
I think video game consoles provide an interesting comparison . We ’ ve moved from passive sitting positions with handheld controllers to much more interactive ways to play a game and keep fit that involves the whole body , with incredible graphics and audio to match . I think we ’ ll see something similar with the metaverse . Right now , the focus is on headsets but I think we ’ ll see new ways to engage with the metaverse beyond a headset and that ’ ll open the door to things like travelling , artistic pursuits and playing sports in the metaverse in a way that looks and feels more real and authentic . •
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