Author: Petra Heinrich, Vice President, Partner & Commercial Sales, EMEA at VMware
And…that’s a wrap on this year’s EMPOWER Online 2022 Europe! What a fantastic event it was. This year we explored how we – with our partner community – can win together as the multi-cloud ecosystem. Thank you to everyone who came along, it was a pleasure to share the last week with you.
As we discussed during the event, VMware is changing the way we do business and we’re bringing partners on that journey with us. We want to train you in new, cloud-based business models and help you upskill in new practices, so that you are empowered to not only become service delivery providers but also trusted advisors.
It’s a shift that many partners are already embracing. Take Xtravirt, a leading UK partner, as an example. As Gavin Jolliffe, Xtravirt’s CEO mentioned in Day 2 of the General Session, it is one of a number of firms that has benefited by transforming itself from a consultancy business into a full life-cycle services business, that is focused on customer outcomes and delivering value in a new way.
That’s why every one of our 140 sessions at this year’s event – across our sales, technology and marketing tracks – was designed to give partners like you the tools to create and deliver unique, innovative solutions to help customers stay relevant and dynamic in a global market.
From these sessions, there are three learnings that every single partner should take away from this year’s show:
- Competencies and skill. Projects are becoming more complex, meaning all partners require highly skilled people who are competent in the technologies that we want to provide to customers. These skills are absolutely pivotal if partners are to expand their customer base, and their footprint with existing customers, but they’re never constant. They need to consistently be refreshed, revisited and relearned so partners continue to remain at the cutting edge of IT innovation, and well positioned to provide that critical consultancy that so many firms need to translate their vision for technology into reality
- Connection and collaboration. Cloud complexity is requiring us to team up together, partner to partner, to ensure that businesses big and small can benefit from the flexibility and agility that multi-cloud brings. One cloud no longer fits all, and the same goes for partners – the cloud is rich tapestry offering an immense range of opportunities, but at the same time it’s also becoming more and more multi-faceted, meaning demand for specific skills and capabilities is growing. That’s why it’s so partners with different competencies are working hand in hand, complementing each other; they realise that’s the best way to deliver the best outcomes and impact.
- Customer success. For those of us working in the channel, the customer always has – and always will – come first. But the way we classify ‘customer outcomes’ is changing. They are increasingly becoming intertwined with lifecycle management as we pivot over to subscription. And as the demands of modern enterprise IT continue evolving at breakneck speed, it’s more important than ever for partners to constantly touch base with customers. That means rethinking every aspect of how you engage with customers; from reviewing your approach to customer success and view of the customer lifecycle, to conducting consistent methodology practice. Ultimately, showing customers that you are constantly around, and constantly thinking about innovation, is what will help you succeed.
If you weren’t able to join EMPOWER Online 2022 Europe, then don’t worry. Hopefully this summary has been useful! All sessions will also be available to access on Partner University. I can highly recommend Going the Distance: Empower the Hybrid Workforce, VMware Tanzu Portfolio 101 – Technical Overview, Conquering Multi-Cloud Complexity with VMware Cross-Cloud Services and Securing the Journey to Multi-Cloud, as well as the General Sessions. But don’t let that stop you from browsing the session catalog – there really is a session for your every need.
And of course, we still have our other big event for this year to look forward to – the newly branded VMware Explore Europe. Previously known as VMworld, VMware Explore will be, as our CEO Raghu Raghuram called it, ‘a gathering of the tribes’ for the multi-cloud community. It’s not one to be missed so make sure to mark your calendars for 28 June 2022 when registration will open. See you there!
