Video: XenTegra CEO On Status of VMware Partnership and How Company is Giving Back in 2024 – Part 2

hey Channel insiders I'm your host Katie boso and welcome back for part two of my interview with CEO founder and president of zentra Andy Whiteside if you haven't watched or listened to part one of this interview head on over to Channel insider.com right now let's talk about some of your vendors uh that are really helping to power zente and helping to power some of the solutions that you're creating I know you talk a lot about Citrix are there any other vendors or specific solutions that right now you'd like to give a shout out to yes it's a long list of them and I'm I'm still extremely bullish on the idea that um desktop and application virtualization including SAS delivery of those through a digital workspace like a Citrix uh like a VMware like a Microsoft M365 uh it's still extremely viable that I um I believe I can go into most customers today even ones that we've been working with for 10 years and ask them about what is your digital workspace strategy and they're still caught off guard by that question so Microsoft Citrix VMware an igel on the back on the endpoint uh Chrome OS on the endpoint uh a nanic in the backend uh VMware in the back end a public hyperscaler Azure AWS gcp and others um those things all make up a digital transformation and a digital workspace and what I call Modern data center in addition to that if I haven't said the word service now enough I'll say it again now that's the thing that's bringing all this together and the question you ask is about you know helping people be successful with these things I believe and and something like service now once we start getting that data in there now we've got a fighting chance to help people be successful with all those other platforms that could be tied into it I use the word platform a lot in some cases it is some case it's just an individual product but getting that product into a platform or accessible through a platform makes it um the capabilities of what the platform can do with it gender to AI uh just get your handle on you know what you have as far as data and um other pieces of the um it and other departments uh is a big step towards that digital transformation I like how you do say platform a lot because honestly for me it means the same thing in my mind as Foundation it's what's holding everything else up and what you're building on top of so I do like how you use that word and I do appreciate that you use it as much as you do uh so going on from there thinking about uh thinking back to you were naming some of those vendors you mentioned VMware and can I ask how are you handling the broadcom acquisition and the announcements uh the announcement that the vmw partner program is is kind of done as we know it is there anything that you're doing right now as a company where you're planning for the future potentially considering another option or getting your clients ready to move on to something else any of that sound like something that is applicable to you at the moment well it's certainly a conversation to be had and yes it's applicable at the same time in some degree it's to some degree it's not uh let me say this so first of all broadcom uh and then maybe some of the other things going on like at Cloud software group those organizations have had valuable Technologies and platforms for many many years that they have sold at a at a lesser cost in order to try to stay relevant and keep customers these organizations have come in and bought up and realize hey this is a very valuable technology we should charge more for this I don't have a problem in the world with that now will their customers revolt on them maybe um should their customers recognize they've been getting it really cheap for a long time probably and and you know cheap is relevant right uh relative to their budgets uh but it's been a very cost effective solution stack VMware specifically for all these years um so we want to help customers who are going to stay on VMware which I think a lot will because it's going to be very costly to get off of it uh it's going to be um it's still a phenomenal product Set uh we want to help them stay on it the ones that are going to stay the ones that it makes sense to stay uh and we want to help them get the most out of it that's part of the whole value at a reseller 2.0 thing for sure um you know it's one thing for a price to go up but if you get more value out of it at the same time then maybe the price didn't really go up or maybe not as much uh however uh there are needs to look towards Alternatives whether it's in the digital workspace space or in this case uh in the virtualization stack uh we do have people like nanic uh scale Computing but U nanic for sure uh even Microsoft Azure stack that's an option for people to be hyperscaler uh uh heading in a hyperscaler direction and then running on Prim uh there are alternatives now and we're starting to run into customers that either going to stay on the VMware stack okay let's help you get the most out of it and then we're running to a lot of customers that see the cost and say okay great I just don't need to be on something that expensive let's explore a new tanic uh let's explore a Microsoft Azure stack or some alternative uh as far as VMware and US super excited that they chose they've chosen us to stay on board as a partner and that's because uh we have been doing transactions for them all along and they love and recognize what we are doing in that value added reseller 2.0 model and they like many other vendors say yeah that's the that's the type partner we want that's exciting to hear and congratulations on that end moving on and and thinking about you you mention men way back in the beginning of the interview some of the resellers and bars kind of being gobbled up by a lot of the m&a activity that we're seeing in the channel so we're seeing that on both sides of the equation between the partners as well as the vendors what other challenges are you seeing in the channel right now how can we actually get opportunities out of some of those challenges um you know going back to the mergers and Acquisitions part I that is just a it's been a blessing for us we've got we've got employees we've got customers that are working with great value added resell sellers that got bought up into a larger model and then they're looking for Alternatives uh that's been a gift that I didn't predict at all just been uh fortunate that that's kind of happening um it's awesome really um but as far as challenges in in the space I mean one thing is there's just so many things there's so many different uh Technologies and um vendors and platforms and products within those platforms that we need to be talking about uh you know gaining mind share with um vendors while not getting too spread out across them uh is got to be just a struggle for every value added reselling partner out there as well as manage service provider but certainly the on the VAR side uh but it's a it's a good problem to have the fact that there's going to be trillions of dollars worth of Technology sold over the next 10 years people are going to buy stuff these are budgeted items anyway they have technology needs that have to be sold in service it's just a you know it's exciting to be a value added reseller I tell people all the time I've been on the partner I've been on the vendor side twice you realize once you've been on both sides that the partner side is the most lucrative spot uh the vendor side is nice and safe and comfortable for some people uh for most people uh but the partner side is where you really make a difference I'll I'll tell you a quick story I'll make it super quick when I left the partner I worked for before I went to work for Citrix the guy um who I worked for followed me out on the hallway and said two things he said number one I know you you're going to miss being a partner and actually getting to help people execute all the way to the Finish Line uh and number two if you ever decide to go start a a partner later let me know I want to come work with you is that guy at zegra right now uh we've had several conversations I've yet beginning to move over hopefully someday if he's listening to this we're sending out we're sending out hints thinking about the future in 2024 what investments are you as Integra making this year well we're doing more investing in marketing so when I talk about zenegra I I really get people's attention by saying we're not a technology integration firm we are uh we're not a sales organization we are we're a marketing firm that does those other two things well um so we're going to be doing more and more marketing to help represent the the vendors out there that we have chosen we've chosen to work with because they're Technology Solutions solve challenges for us and our customers uh you're just going to see more and more of us doing that whether it's digital content yes of course whether it's virtual events yes of course uh and inperson events I I um I'm a huge believer and I get almost zero push back on this that the vendor world of in-person events at scale across let's say the top 100 markets in the United States as an example it um it was waning before the pandemic and then during the pandemic there was no need to do that so they they got rid of those departments now they need value added reselling Partners like us to step up and do that for them because they're never going to be able to do it again for themselves it'd be way too much investment on the vendor side to go back to the old days thinking about that you you you talk about chosen vendors is there anything that vendors can keep in mind to be considered a chosen Vendor by zenegra what can they do to be able to get into your portfolio and get a seat at your table uh number one you know technologies that are good great solve problems for customers no-brainer things for customers to want to adopt um that's that's first and foremost right it can't be garbage it's got to be good it's got to be applicable to our our customers um and most are right there's most are without a doubt uh the other thing the most important thing to elevate yourself in the zenegra stack is to create your own wave right so I'm a I'm um I'm an average wake Surfer um but the boat better produce a wave and then we can do things to make the wave better and what I'm getting at is you the greatest Surfers in the world can't ride a twoot wave very well uh I need vendors to invest in some of that go to market building of their own wave and then we can can jump in and and make it bigger and better and vendors have to realize that in order for their Partners to be successful they've got to drive a little bit of that demand ideally a lot of that demand in parallel to what the partners are doing that's very interesting and I have a lot of questions outside of this interview about your hobbies because they sound really cool uh so going on from there you talked about uh computers for Community something that you're obviously very passionate about so talk to me about the charitable Investments or organizations that you're really spending time with this year well so this is um something that my family has done and zenegra is part of this story um probably the thing I'm most excited about I mean hopefully some of it's come across here I'm excited about what we're doing as integr but uh you know making a difference leaving a legacy changing the world uh so computers for Community started at the beginning of the pandemic where we take uh you know computers that aren't being used by individuals organizations in aggregate or companies repurposing them into like a Chrome OS so that these uh these originally kids but it became nonprofits instantly nonprofits can have technology and eliminate the digital divide that they're facing um so the digital divide aspect is one piece of it uh the other thing is um e-w recycling there are billions of dollars in e-w sitting in drawers or in cab on cabinets or in storage rooms if you took that recycled it got the precious metals out of it uh then you could turn around and use that to donate to nonprofit so they could you know invest in their mission and then finally the thing that's most relevant at this point for computers for Community is it's become it's become the um the go to market for Zena's nonprofits in other words zenegra like probably most value added resellers out there we don't focus on nonprofits as a as a customer segment uh I have this conversation with our vendors almost every day neither do they I mean take take any vendor you want to name nonprofits are so low on their addressable customer segments that they just don't do a whole lot to solve it um computers for Community is intended to be the partner that goes after nonprofits helping nonprofits at a sustainable model so you know we we push back on vendors Hardware software to get best the best pricing possible uh we market up very little our services are are done Nearshore and offshore and marked up very little it's it's essentially a value added reseller nonprofit to other nonprofits to create a sustainable it Enterprise it model for them so that they can focus on their mission and not have to focus on how they're going to afford Enterprise Technologies I love that and speaking of community I know that you're very involved in the it and and channel community and wanting to create opportunities for your peers so can you tell me a little bit about some of those opportunities I've heard of a conference discounts the different opportunities that you're making sure you're you're using for outreach tell me about where can we find these what are they uh and just go into that a little bit for me yeah it's pretty simple the whole model is build a community of uh customers and vendors and bring them together and help them be successful and that's done through you know whether it's a lunch whether it's a webinar whether it's just a Meetup somewhere whether it's online digital content like all the podcasts we do um and you mentioned conference passes it's probably thing I'm most um at at a at a micro level excited about when I can find a customer who in has a technology like a VMware like a Salesforce like a service now and I get to say them have you ever been to the conference and met your peers and they say no and I'm like why not it's like well I can't afford to go it's like boom I'm going to fix that for you uh and I know if you do that it's going to create a a legacy business model where that person that company is highly likely not guaranteed but highly likely to work with our organization myself my peers uh it's just a simple way to do business I don't know where the world lost sight of that but uh we think it's important and Andy my last question for you today you do a lot I mean as the president and CEO of any company you can imagine that you do a lot in that position but from what I see you're constantly maintaining Outreach on LinkedIn you're touching everything from toing your vendor Partners to engaging the community like we just said talking about those events talking about job opportunities your charitable work your travel you host several podcasts you do webinars and you make decisions down to the smallest detail at Integra how how do you stay hungry and how do you stay informed to be able to continue to give your best every day so I'll apply a couple things so number one it's a team over here I I don't really do anything every day like all this stuff you said that's doing stuff but I I don't even notice it I my my son my youngest son's 14 he asked me last night you know how was work and I was like I don't remember like it it just happen and to be honest the it's a team effort I've got a lot of people supporting me I don't know that I'd necessarily have to do anything today if I didn't want to uh other people take care of the things that have to get done uh so I have a lot of people to lean on uh another aspect of that is I'm I don't actually work I mean it's it's just kind of fun um would I like to be out uh skiing or fishing with clients every day sure and I actually do some of that um but I also don't mind at all doing podcasts and webinars and talking to clients about helping them Solve IT challenges uh it all kind of happens because if it's if it doesn't feel like work my my only complaint is how fast the days go by and the years go by and the weeks and months go by uh because it's fun just enjoy doing it and that that gets down to my main point you know I'm I'm a 50-year-old guy that can't play competitive sports that much anymore and it's it's it's my sport I enjoy doing it so it's uh it's not a job it's more like a hobby Andy you have a saying work has no boundaries what does that mean because for somebody like me who can get really into the day-to-day that sounds a little scary how do you make it something not so scary well it's it's not so much a saying it's a it's a lifestyle it's a movements and we've you know we've created this um marketing campaign around it go to www.org has no B boundaries.com and you'll see this year we're giving away a trip to Hawaii to take meetings and discussions with us and our vendors that we work with last year we gave away two Ford Broncos uh the year before that we gave away another Ford Bronco but the whole concept is we have known for decades now or certainly a decade that you didn't have to live and work in four walls all the time I think it's really important to get together uh I think it's important to see each other I think my team's going to lunch right now I'm going to go join them in a minute um but work has no boundaries.com is the way for us to kind of Express that concept of a a work lifestyle that has existed for a long time and the Technologies honestly thanks to the pandemic has been a part of it has uh accelerated that and got us to the point where it's it's very much a reality for most people most of the time highly want to encourage people to you know get together spend time at conferences like we talked about a while ago um but spend time in the office but uh we can get a lot done uh remotely these days and you know it's it used to be a joke people could sit on the beach like people literally post that they would sit by the pool or sit on the beach and every time they did it they would post it online uh now I think people just do it every day I don't even think it's unusual for sure for sure uh definitely want to see how I can enter that Hawaii uh trip just kidding but going on from there if there was one trait or quality that you would recommend that people in the channel whether you're a VAR a vendor anybody that probably works with anybody here what's the number one trait that you recommend that they have you know I had a um fortunate moment in my career I went to work for one of the vendors and I had a a a mentor and they said look you know more about the technology than I do you've got the the skills to talk to customers I just need you to learn one thing I was like okay what is that and they said humility and it literally changed my professional world uh I like to think I had it before but I didn't know how to express it now I have to and it may not come off this way to a lot of people cuz I'm super you know we got to go we got to go we got to go we're going to get this done uh but humility is extremely valuable on the channel side on the customer side and on the vendor side nobody knows it all uh nobody has all the answers uh nobody can be everything to everybody uh knowing that you're you know you're limited and having humility around it is just super important so tell me if we want to engage zenra this year as an IT buyer if we want to reach out to your organization and learn more where can we go so there's the obviously the website has a contact and learn more and and you know just talking about the conference passes a while ago if you want to go to one of the conferences or a conference doesn't have to be one of the ones we're promoting you know reach out there um you know let if you're a vendor and you have customers you want to go reach out there that'll start the process of getting us engaged with you for sure there's actually a contact page I'm sure on the website uh or LinkedIn like I'm super active on LinkedIn I it it may sound weird but before I go to bed every night I mean there's obviously the family stuff that happens but I check LinkedIn and when I wake up in the morning I check LinkedIn and and when I you know hang up here I'm going to check LinkedIn uh private message on LinkedIn myself or one of my peers uh great way to get in contact with us Andy thank you so much for your time today I hope to have you back on in the near future and I just appreciate your insights awesome love love doing it thank you thanks again to Andy for joining me and thank you for watching or listening check out all of our episodes of Channel Insider partner poov on Channel insider.com or on YouTube at Channel inssider news and Trends you can also listen to the podcast of this episode on your preferred podcast platform and don't forget to like And subscribe and follow to never miss an episode and if you've got a question for me or you want to be on the show email me at partner poov Channel insider.com once again I'm Katie boso and I'll see you next time I

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