Cover Story
Rob Rae ' s Strategy For Elevating Pax8 And Its MSP Partners
Rob Rae ’ s 20 + year commitment to empowering the IT channel continues at Pax8 , where he ’ s been serving as Corporate Vice President of Community and Ecosystems for a little over a year . Now , his ongoing efforts to enhance managed service provider ( MSP ) relationships are playing a pivotal role in shaping the community ’ s future and fostering partner growth .
Pax8 first revolutionized traditional distributor- MSP relations in 2012 by seizing upon competitors ’ slower adaptation to the rising number of MSPs , vendors , and SMBs transitioning to cloud technology . Now , with the changes happening in the way people consume technology coupled with Pax8 ’ s unparalleled cloud product buying experience and its commitment to its mission to be the world ’ s favorite destination for cloud solutions , once again the company is on the crux of disrupting the industry .
But how does Pax8 maintain the fast execution required for disruption and grow rapidly without significant setbacks or failure ? It ’ s an age-old question , especially as the global managed services markets continue on a massive growth trend projected to reach $ 731.08 billion by 2030 , according to Grand View Research .
With Rob ’ s leadership further solidifying the company ’ s position as an industry front-runner , he shared how he plans to enhance the space while balancing disruption with stability .
1 . Never Lose Sight Of Your Community
Communication , both externally and internally , is crucial . The relationships with the MSP channel and vendors in the marketplace are critically important to what Pax8 does . “ I ensure our partners understand where we ’ re investing our money and where we see opportunities and growth ,” he said . “ I also work with vendors on how we ’ re going to help them develop and grow their businesses with the MSP channels we work with . Internally , I serve as the voice of the MSP and the vendor at Pax8 , monitoring trends and addressing gaps .”
Rob emphasizes the MSP ’ s centrality in decisionmaking . “ We believe the MSP needs to stay at the center of all decisions that are made for SMB IT ,” Rob said . “ We believe in promoting MSPs and continuing to work with them so that end users are
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