Enterprise Cloud platform provider Nutanix has been forming strategic global alliances such as HPE and SAP for growing scope, scale, and strength of its partner’s ecosystem and the capabilities it can bring to bear for our customers. Speaking to Jacob Pereira, APJ Senior Director Channels, Nutanix shares the road map for channel and how Nutanix is building their capabilities to meet the digital need of customers.
Could you give us an overview of Nutanix’s strategic alliances and how they add to the company’s growth?
It is increasingly apparent, no one vendor is able to provide the complete solution for modern enterprise customers. Today’s digital enterprises have become more sophisticated and demand more bespoke requirements. As such, the true value will become dependent on the strength of the partnerships and alliances built to support these enterprises. Nutanix has and will continue, to build worldwide allegiances that provide comprehensive solutions and added value for companies as they seek to remain relevant in a rapidly changing digital environment. Recent examples, like our partnerships with HPE and SAP highlight the growing scope, scale and strength of our ecosystem and the capabilities we can bring to bear for our customers.
With an increasing number of customers turning towards hyper-converged infra, how is Nutanix’s positioned to cater to the market? What’s your go-to-market strategy in HCI
Nutanix is a software company that provides an Enterprise Cloud platform for customers. As the pioneer and leader in HCI, we provide the freedom for customers to choose their own tailored path towards embracing the cloud. We cater to the entire spectrum of companies – from G2K to mid-market, to commercial. In the last 12 months, we have seen the emergence of service providers and managed service providers evaluating and deploying HCI to provide a greater level of service. Channel and OEM have also continued to expand in the new territory expansions we have made investments in the past year.
How do you see the adoption of HCI and cloud in regulated sectors like BFSI, healthcare and their comfort with cloud? Will Nutanix trickle down to SMBs?
Increased simplicity, visibility and governance make HCI ideal for the BFSI sector, and in an increasingly regulated environment, maintaining data sovereignty remains a big concern. Nutanix provides the flexibility needed to deploy the right cloud environment for these industries. This flexibility means we have customers start consuming the entry-level ROBO solutions as well as HCI for their on-premises –, especially amongst SMBs.
As companies are going for digital transformation which translates into complex infra, business demand is changing, and budgets are getting skewed. How are you preparing your channel to address these business challenges?
We have been investing in our channel partners to take on the digital transformation efforts with our customers. New initiatives like our recently announced channel charter help partners build the right competency to land, expand and drive services and implement Nutanix to support their customer needs.
What is the role of Nutanix’s channel business in shaping the company’s India growth story and cloud proliferation?
Nutanix is a 100% channel in India. We leverage our partners for territory expansion across the country, utilizing both their OEM and Nutanix expertise to drive higher adoption of HCI. In the past 12 month, we have seen partners increase their repeat purchases to expand within the customer footprint we have built in India.
How is Nutanix focused on providing power to partners and transforming them from ‘builders’ to ‘scalers’?
We have made it simple for partners to take customers thru our Core, Essentials, and Enterprise portfolio categories. Partners who have landed customers would have sold our Core offerings and have the ability to scale to the Scaler tiers if they move customers up to embrace the features of Essentials which brings greater flexibility in application mobility automation and network micro-segmentation.
What are the technology trends that can impact channel partners as it relates to your specific business?
Digital Transformation, whether in the private and public sectors, as well as the emergence of 5G is driving a large number of companies to look at IOT solutions. Moreover, as companies look to redefine and remain relevant against increased competition and uncertainty – HCI and software-defined solutions are seen as fundamental to their continued growth and survival.
