StorMagic has appointed Scott Mann as global senior vice president of sales as partners and customers reassess virtualization strategies amid rising VMware costs and ongoing hardware refresh pressures.
The move comes as enterprises navigating infrastructure upgrades face a higher total cost of ownership, prompting increased interest in alternative virtualization platforms, particularly in edge and distributed environments.
Mann joins StorMagic after time at Scale Computing, others in channel leadership positions
Mann brings roughly 15 years of experience in enterprise IT sales, with a focus on virtualization, security, and hyperconverged infrastructure. His previous roles include leadership positions at Scale Computing and WinMagic.
“I was incredibly excited about the opportunity to join StorMagic,” Mann told Channel Insider. “The buy-in from leadership on the channel approach is super important to me, and it’s clear that our leadership believes in the importance of the channel.”
“I don’t want to go to a company where I have to convince people that this go-to-market approach is the right thing for the business,” Mann added. “There’s already a great foundation in place here and a lot of respect for what the channel can do.”
VMware pricing shifts and rising hardware costs push partners toward alternatives
Mann’s appointment comes as many organizations enter hardware refresh cycles under tighter budget scrutiny. Enterprises replacing aging infrastructure are facing higher server costs, supply chain-driven price normalization, and increased software licensing expenses, particularly in virtualization.
At the same time, Broadcom’s changes to VMware’s licensing model, including shifts toward subscription bundles and higher minimum commitments, have driven up total cost of ownership for some customers, prompting partners to reevaluate platform options.
This convergence is forcing IT buyers to reconsider traditional virtualization stacks during refresh cycles, creating an opening for alternative vendors that emphasize lower hardware requirements and simplified licensing.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a dramatic change in the market as I have over the past few years,” Mann said. “To really grow, you’ve got to be in market conditions where people are looking for you, and we absolutely are right now.”
How StorMagic fits into the picture
StorMagic is positioning its platform squarely in that gap, promoting lightweight, on-site virtualization designed for distributed and edge environments where full-scale infrastructure may be cost-prohibitive.
“We have the most flexible solution on the market,” said Mann. “It’s an opportunity for customers to keep their existing hardware and run on our solution on it, which is huge right now for customers who want to migrate but are concerned about the cost of doing a whole refresh cycle right now.”
Why Mann sees vast opportunity ahead for StorMagic’s channel partners
Moving forward, Mann is expected to prioritize deepening partner relationships and expanding StorMagic’s global footprint, particularly in edge use cases where simplicity and resilience are critical.
To him, the role is an opportunity to build upon the foundation StorMagic has already set by targeting strategic partnerships with mutual goals worldwide.
“You don’t build that overnight,” Mann said. “We need to show partners why the solution is valuable to their customers and how it benefits them as well, and we need to find people with mutual interests who want to grow through shared opportunities.”
Mann’s early priorities and long-term vision
To Mann, building the program will require regional expertise enabled by a global approach to what StorMagic’s program should bring to channel partners. Above all, he wants current and future partners to know that he and the team remain committed to bringing them technology as simply as they can.
“In today’s world, simplicity is the biggest thing that happens in a partner program,” said Mann. “I’ve gotten a lot done in a short amount of time, but we have a lot more to do, and you can’t do it all right out of the gate. I’m excited to keep building this program and bringing partners along.”
StorMagic’s channel push reflects a broader shift across the virtualization market, where partners are increasingly guiding customers through platform changes tied to cost, flexibility, and long-term infrastructure strategy.
As refresh cycles accelerate in 2026, vendors that can simplify deployment and reduce hardware dependency are likely to see increased traction—especially among distributed enterprises and edge-first organizations.