Bull`s Eye Awards: Global Channel Executive of the Year - CHAMPION
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Rich Hume
General Manager
IBM Global Business Partner Organization
The world faced some of the greatest challenges it has ever seen in
2009: global warming, political instabilities, constrained energy
resources and, of course, the global recession. Rather than turning in
on itself, IBM under the direction of Rich Hume made a bold commitment
to its partners by drafting a partnership charter to reflect changing
global commitments and IBM’s intention to create a “smarter planet”
with its partners.
IBM
remains one of the most channel-focused vendors in the business, and
it's Hume who shepherds Big Blue’s global ecosystem of more than
100,000 business partners. While the world seemed like it was spiraling
out of control, Hume deftly instituted reforms and enhancements to the
IBM PartnerWorld program to focus on enhancing partner growth and
profitability, and ensuring simplicity in partner relations.
When it comes to growth, Hume believes partners can build their
businesses by enhancing their offerings, better packaging and vertical
alignment. IBM launched several initiatives to help partners focus on
specific technology opportunities with a broader perspective of
attached sales through holistic solution building. IBM developed new
training and certifications to ensure partners have the right resources
and knowledge sets to meet the needs of their customers. To complement
this push, IBM created new solution building options that brought
together packages that reached across the traditionally segmented IBM
business units to include hardware, software, services and financing.
Hume and his organization have spent more than $100 million on
partner marketing, helping IBM resellers reach new customers and
markets. The IBM Business Partner Organization has compiled a vast
library and repository of resources designed to help its business
partners penetrate and address the needs of midmarket customers. By
creating products and resources for the midmarket, IBM is creating new
sales and growth opportunities for scores of its partners.
Let’s face it, IBM isn’t the most approachable company in the world.
Its vast size alone makes it a challenge to work with. Hume has made
simplicity of doing business with IBM a priority. He’s overseen the
launch of new community efforts and resources for partners looking to
enhance their business with IBM and peer IBM partners. Internally, the
“Know Your IBM” initiative is opening greater accessibility between
partners and their initial contacts for quoting, financing and solution
building.
When the revised partner charter was released in March, Hume
promised that IBM would evolve its partner program to meet the needs of
the changing world but not move away from the partners that build and
support IBM. The initiatives that Hume has undertaken in 2009 have not
just affirmed that commitment, but advanced IBM’s partner program and
the interest of its business partners. For his commitment to the
channel and IBM’s partners, Channel Insider is proud to name Rich Hume
the recipient of the Champion Bull’s Eye Award for Global Channel
Executive of the Year.
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