Maximizing Partner Potential
Silber: I think the reality is we work with everyone. I think, ultimately, there's an element of, and a lot of folks that are in the room today, there's an element of how you approach the problem with your customer. But I think, ultimately, what you're driving to, and it's interesting, I've been doing this for a couple of years now, coming up on stage and talking about kind of where to focus. I used to tell people: “customer first.” Don't worry about the technology, just [put] the customer first. Now I think I look at it as a solution first. Because what I've learned. Customers are actually not in the business of deploying networks. They're in the business of deploying solutions.
And like the gentleman that was on before us, to be able to enhance their service delivery with things like AI and other tools, all those things come back to networks. You can't do any of those things if you cannot connect. And whether in my specific business unit with mobile devices, with handheld devices, with IoT sensors in the field, you can have the greatest sensor in the world. If you don't have any connectivity, it's not going back into a hub where you can run AI-based data and try to figure out how to deliver a better solution to your end users as a customer.
So I think you have to first and foremost look at it from a solution perspective. You've got Widget or App X. How do you get App X or Widget X out in the field to the users? And the answer is always network. I think what's also important to note, if you're not familiar, if you haven't done this before, you're going to find out really quickly, there is no one network out there that solves all the problems. So you need to, and in many cases, it could come from an MSP, could come from another source, but I look at our vast customer base and different verticals. They all have one thing in common.
They don't even know it. Every one of those deployments has no less than three separate technologies. It could be broadband, wireless services, and satellite services, just to name a few. But what the customer is really looking for when they're deploying the solution is they're looking for the easy button. They're looking for, I just want it to be out in the field, I want it to work, yes, and 95% of the places I could use technology X versus technology Y, but they don't care about any of that. That's not the business they're in.
So I think it's important for MSPs. I think it's important for anyone, however your approach is to your customer base, to always arm yourself really with a kind of look up on stage, this is your Swiss Army knife right here. You could pull out the corkscrew remover, you could pull out the knife, you could pull out the file, whatever you need, that's part of your value in delivering that solution to your customer. That's why customers are coming to you, whether you're an MSP, whether you're a cost optimization consultant, it doesn't really matter. They're looking for you to always have that tool chest, and they're also looking for you to pivot as technology changes, as the needs of the business and the solution changes over time.
Channel Partner Dynamics
Edwards: That’s a fascinating segue because actually when you talk about creating that seamless experience for customers and it just works for them, as we all know, to be able to deliver all those solutions and services and so on, it requires a huge amount of effort and capability by the providers in the tech space. So let's talk about partners for a minute because the demands on channel partners are changing. As you said, you're having to pivot into new areas, they're having to develop new skills. Now, Charlie, your role is VP of channels at Granite. So what does channel mean for you and how do you see your partner strategy changing?
Empowering Channel Partners
Pagliazzo: Well, it really comes down to the partner community that are really the experts in this evolving technology. Our partners have spent a lot of time understanding these new technologies, and hopefully, Granite as a company is doing its part to make sure that they have access to training, they have access to understanding those technologies.
I mean, to Max's point about the Swiss Army knife, if partners can recognize what their clients are looking for, the aggregator solution, we can still use that term, allows them to design, work with us to design a solution that's going to stick, that's going to meet their needs. My colleague Mark Palmer is responsible for the digital transformation solutions, talks about filling gaps. Because to your point, every client has different needs. And for us to ensure that our partners have the ability, no matter who that client or prospect that they're talking to can leverage solution that meets, whatever that gap is, are they trying to upgrade their network, that they want to start leveraging advanced software and artificial intelligence? Having all of those things available to them, I think from a partner standpoint, if they know they can depend on a provider, an aggregated provider to deliver all those, they're able to step into areas that they can get into revenue streams that they haven't been able to participate in before. And at the end of the day, how do we get into more solutions that drive more revenue? I mean, hopefully, we can help partners do that.