“Storage is where the action will be”

Having spent over two decades in the IT industry, Mukul Mathur knows the importance of the channel for a systems
vendor.IBM India has been a strong channel player for a long time, fine tuning its channel structure over the years and recently increasing its tier two partner base. With a range of soon-to-be-launched products, IBM is now setting its sights more strongly on the Indian storage business. In an interview with DQCI, Mukul describes the company’s channel structure, program and plans:

Mukul Mathur  Country Manager–Channels and CSU/PDU, IBM India

IBM has added 31 new products to TotalStorage Proven, a program supported by companies like Cisco,
deCODE, and others

What is your channel structure?

In the channel hierarchy, our four distributors are at the top - Tech Pacific, Redington, Iris and Ingram Micro. We also have another distributor for PCs–Rashi Peripherals. System integrators follow the distributors in the channel structure. We have about 40 SIs. After them, we have the tier-two partners. 

What is your current partner strength?

We have more than 1,000 partners spread across the country. We plan to increase our partner base as and when the need arises. We believe that India is a huge market and we have to be present everywhere so that we can be a household name in this country. 

What sort of programs do you organize for your channel?

We keep having various programs; it could be either educative sessions or events, where partners can interact with us. At such times, partners can make suggestions and we try to implement the required changes.

Recently, we organized the ‘XSeries Sales School Program’, an Intel server sales training and certification program. It is aimed at imparting complete education to the business partner sales represen-tatives on Intel servers. It was held in seven cities–Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Cochin. 

IBM India has 80% its business coming through the channel. How do you train and equip your partners to sell effectively?

Partners need to understand that vendors chalk out plans every fiscal and work accordingly. We decide on a few product categories that can be sold in the market. We understand that it is the partners who make the most for us and so we do everything that we can for them. In the coming fiscal, we will be launching many products. This will allow the channel to compete with their counterparts and earn margins as well. 

Any specific plans for the next few quarters?

We will focus on providing training to partners to enhance their knowledge and to help them sell IBM products with ease. One growth area is the storage business, and for this segment, we plan to launch specific programs. 

In the coming fiscal, there will be many product launches in various categories. This will give customers more products to choose from. For example, IBM recently announced 31 new additions to the IBM TotalStorage Proven program, including solutions that interoperate with FAStT (IBM’s entry-level storage solutions). This program helps identify storage solutions and configurations for customers that have been pre-tested for interoperability, thereby enabling faster support and more reliable installations for customers. Some of the latest companies to successfully test solutions with the TotalStorage FAStT line include Actuate, Business Objects, Cisco Systems, deCODE, Verint’s Loronix Video Solution and
Polyserve. 

How do you keep your partners motivated? 

We know that our channel has played a major role in our success. At IBM, it has always been a trend to reward the partners for volume sales, loyalty and performance. We also have many promotional campaigns for the channel, so keep them excited. 

To support its business partners, IBM has also put in place many educational and joint-marketing activities—the ThinkVantage University program, discounted products for display, joint efforts for demand generation and exchange schemes.

Last fiscal, we increased our tier-two partner base to extend our reach. We also had a special four-day Think IBM Summit at Australia, to recognize business partners for their significant contribution towards the company’s growth. Channel members were rewarded for their efforts in the personal computing and Intel-based servers businesses, in the previous year.

IBM’s sales grew significantly in the last six quarters as a result of the channel infrastructure, programs and opportunities provided by the company to its partners.

A DQCI REPORT