When it comes to networking and unified communications, most people think of
Cisco Systems and Avaya—two companies that dominate the North
America market. Microsoft and Google get lumped in there, too,
because they seem to have a hand in every technology grouping. And
Hewlett-Packard may soon have a place in this category with its acquisition of
3Com.
Not often thought of in unified communications—at least in North America—is
Siemens Enterprise Communications (which goes by the short-script “The SEN
Group”), a subsidiary of the German conglomerate Siemens AG. Overseas, Siemens
is a market leader in voice and data networking. In the United
States, it plays in the shadows of Cisco and
Avaya.
Denzil Samuels, the new global channel chief at the SEN
Group, believes the channel is the best route for the company to take in
building out its U.S.
and Canadian presence, and capture more market share from rivals.
The company broke off from Siemens corporate a year ago as a joint venture
with The Gores Group. SEC has been restructuring to reduce operating costs and
optimize operations to make it more competitive. The addition of companies such
as Enterasys to its portfolio has given it the resources and solutions needed
to reach a broader portfolio of customers. And its open software platform means
that it can integrate with virtually any existing unified communications
system.
What’s been lacking, Samuels said during a recent visit to the Channel
Insider office, is a cultural shift that makes selling indirectly through the
channel a priority and imperative. Mark Vayda, the company’s president of
worldwide sales, said earlier this year that the channel would be the priority,
and the company is pointing to Samuels’ appointment to the global channel chief
post and the creation of a worldwide channel organization as a commitment to working
with partners and developing a robust channel system.
Samuels recounted for Channel
Insider several of the changes The SEN
Group has made over the last several months to ensure a channel-centric
approach. They are:
-
Changed inside sales compensation plans to go beyond spiffs and bonuses on
channels sales; all sales reps now carry a number of the amount of sales
that must go through channel partners. On average, inside sales must push
20 percent to 50 percent of their business through partners.
-
Sales reps will not qualify
for bonuses, commission accelerators or President’s Club rewards if they
do not make their channel quota.
-
Created a SKU system for
products and services, making it easier for solution providers to order
and sell SEN products (amazingly, this
didn’t exist before).
-
Created deal registration so
net-new opportunities uncovered by partners are protected.
-
Built and deployed a
centralized ordering tool for solution provider use.
-
Established distribution
relationships with Synnex (U.S.) and Westcon (EMEA).
-
Created a solutions lab,
where partners can test their use of SEN
products before going to market or delivering to customers.
-
Formed a partner advisory
board to get direct feedback on programs, technology and business
operations.
-
Created subscription-based
pricing for bundled hardware, software and services solutions (this makes
for easier and faster selling, partners tell Samuels).
Samuels says the SEN Group channel program is still a work in progress, and the company still needs to improve
some products so they scale in SMB environments. But he’s confident the changes
made over the last several months to the program and internal culture will
result in significant benefits to existing and future channel partners.
Ultimately, solid execution on this channel strategy will lead SEN
to greater success in the North America market, he says.
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Messaging and Collaboration 
