A Visit to the Google Campus
Along with
two of my channel colleagues, I was given the opportunity of speaking at the
recent Small Business Web
Summit in Mountain View, CA. Joined by my CompTIA associate Tim Herbert, SVP
of Market Research and SaaSMAX
CEO Dina Moskowitz, the trip was quite interesting and our session was extremely
insightful. Approximately 200 representatives from a variety of vendor
organizations (many whom participate in Google’s Application Marketplace) joined
us in the day’s discussions, which was quite interactive. The goal for our session,
“Why SaaS Companies are Foolish to Ignore the Reseller Channel” was to
illustrate all the benefits of using the IT channel for their go-to-market
strategy, and we offered up a variety of reasons for them to consider that
route.
The room was full of young, highly intelligent and ambitious CEO’s and the founders of small, entrepreneurial startups. Most are selling direct today and very few seemed knowledgeable in using the IT channel as a go-to-market strategy.
As a 25-year channel veteran, I found it challenging to speak in terms they would understand, avoiding all the lovely acronyms we use so often, and ensuring the opportunity sounded less complicated than it truly can be. As Dina explains, many “view channel primarily as those software partners who they integrate with, and expect that those API integrations will serve as their sales drivers. What they often overlook is that it’s often the Solution Provider who helps determine, or is a key influencer in, which solutions to license and integrate.”
Dina was a huge help in coaching me through it all. Her expertise at connecting cloud platforms and Solution Providers was invaluable to the discussions, pointing out ways attendees could fast-track their reseller programs and accelerate their partner recruitment.
Tim also did a great job, providing an industry overview, sizing up the channel and the SMB marketplace and defining the differences between various channel partners. I offered insight on the value of partnering with Solution Providers, discussing the intricacies of becoming a trusted advisor to their clients and acting as a virtual CIO in many cases.
The audience seemed to have a good grasp on the solutions required for various lines of business (sales, marketing, etc.) and for certain vertical markets, and understood the concerns around privacy and with industry regulations. I covered how channel partners assess their clients’ environment, integrate multi-vendor solutions, train end users on new technologies, and provide feedback on products, support and new technologies. That allows SMB organizations to focus on their business. I also shared how solution providers maintain their technical prowess and keep current with key industry certifications. The bottom line? We discussed why the IT channel can help vendors grow their customer base, particularly providing SaaS suppliers with a much broader geographic and technical reach which, in turn, will help them grow their revenue and profits!
While many entrepreneurs in the audience may believe their operations are too small for two tier distribution, it’s an option they may wish to consider at some point. At a minimum, we suggested they start small, onboarding 3 or 4 partners and building a program as they engage and enable more partners for success. Once they have an established channel program in place, two-tiered distribution might be a good option.
Campus Life at Google
…Our discussion was not actually held on the main Google campus, but in an adjacent facility known as the “Executive Briefing Center.” Our shuttle driver got lost trying to find the building, but we finally made it. The first thing you notice is the electric charging stations for cars in the parking lot, picnic benches nestled beneath large shade trees closer to the facility, and multicolored bicycles available for the taking. It appears everyone is following the “green philosophy” at Google, especially if one needs a lift to their next meeting. It truly felt like a college campus.
As I ran from
building to building attending various sessions of the Summit, I was impressed
with the security at Google. It seems everyone, including the guards, are Millennials!
And they’re good. You can’t walk into buildings behind an employee without
being challenged. They’re trained to turn around and check credentials of
everyone entering.
Google has a massive café with every kind of food station
imaginable it seemed. The “Tech Shop,” a retail-looking storefront located inside
that area offers IT troubleshooting and repair services for employees. And inside
each building is a rack of bicycles they can use to travel around the campus.
Did I mention the full-length Olympic sized pool including showers, dressing areas, and high tech heated toilet seats located outside the far window of the café?
Back to the Channel Discussion
The two-day Small Business Web Summit included “Bird of a Feather” sessions where like-minded professionals pulled up a chair to discuss topics such as Growth Marketing, Community and Business Development, Platform Ecosystems, and Sales tactics. They openly shared challenges and sought out best practices on ways to resolve them.
The day one keynote was on “Acquiring small business
customers at scale” by Rahul Sood, the Managing Director of Apps and Search at Google for Work. There were also fascinating
breakouts. Anand Kulkarni, President and Co-Founder of LeadGenius, discussed pitching to midsize
businesses in America (for fun and profit!). Steven Aldrich, Chief Product
Officer at GoDaddy shared reasons why
his company stopped running Super Bowl ads.
Other sessions covered empowering the next great SaaS platform, engineering
the sales team, and the changing opportunities in e-commerce.
In the end, while surrounded by millennials in a college campus environment and learning to speak a different language, I found it really wasn’t alien territory after all. Instead, it was a fascinating time in a fantastic learning environment, and it provided me with a firsthand opportunity to experience the buzz and energy coming from these “up and coming” organizations. Could they be the next Facebook, UBER, or AirBnB? Stay tuned, you never know…
