With an aim to tap the explored opportunities in the mid-market and SMB segment, being a 100 per cent channel oriented organisation – Citrix is all set to put greater emphasis towards better engagement with the partner community in terms of targeting the SMBs in India.
Eklavya Bhave – Head Partner Strategy & Sales (India & SAARC), Citrix speaks with Zia Askari from ChannelDrive.in about the company’s core focus activities today and its near term plans.
What are the top priorities of Citrix today? How important is the channel community for the success of Citrix?
Over the years, Citrix’s focus has been to offer end-to-end mobility solutions and at the same time create an ecosystem making mobility solutions easier to adopt, setting new standards for user experience and cost benefits. We believe that while solutions may vary, secure application delivery is pivotal at every stage and in every solution.
Hence, one of the priority areas for Citrix has been secure delivery of data and applications, with the wider objective of balancing user experience with security controls.
Citrix is a 100% channel driven organization and channel partners are pertinent in shaping the Citrix growth curve. The channel community adds value and is an important part of our business strategy and we have always believed that the success of our partners will drive our success.
Their insight and understanding of the market mixed with technical expertise help identify customer needs. Partner feedback is an essential tool for significant improvements as they engage directly with the customers. Furthermore, it is the channel partners who position Citrix products effectively in the market, identify new avenue and sell the Citrix proposition to these new opportunities. Understanding their valuable contribution, Citrix is committed to making the vendor-partner relationship a beneficial one to expand its reach and explore more opportunities in the market.
How is Citrix looking to increase focus on partner community and mid-market segment?
Recently, Citrix announced an update to its incentive program for partners, to fuel growth and opportunities in the mid-market segment. To meet the mid-market demand, Citrix is introducing a new Strategic Development Fund for Citrix Solution Advisors (CSAs) and distributors.
Additionally, aNet New Partner Sourced program to recognize and reward the Citrix Solution Advisors for scouting potential opportunities, is also in the pipeline. Under the program, partners will be eligible for a seven percent suggested upfront discount on all new partner qualified opportunities. Furthermore, partners will continue to be rewarded for solution selling in all market segments through the Citrix Advisor Rewards program.
This latest incentive roll out increases partner pay-out significantly. Rewarding individual and distinct sales activities is designed to bolster presence in the mid-market. The new incentive structure is aimed to bolster vendor-partner liaison which not only excites the channel ecosystem but also generates better revenues and diversifies customer reach. Citrix has a strong presence in the enterprise segment, while we will continue to maintain that, commercial space will add to multiplicity.
This year, we are targeting high-potential opportunities and intend to penetrate deeper into the mid-market and SMB space. We have fine-tuned our marketing approach, identified SMB relevant solutions and working in tandem with specialist partners who have unparalleled market insights to deliver results in a decided frame of time. While application virtualization and mobility are the core areas, networking will witness traction with NetScaler and Cloudbridge solutions.
What is the company’s partner strategy for the year 2016?
Citrix corporate strategy for 2016 resonates and lays emphasis on ‘Partner for success’. We have a robust partner network and in India, partners contribute a sizeable quantum of returns.Citrix’s channel strategy is based on three pillars- Growth, profitability and predictability. Various programs like Citrix Solution Advisors (CSA), CSA Specialist, and Citrix Service Providers (CSP) have been initiated to fortify their role.
Diversifying our vertical portfolio through channel engagement is a key priority area for Citrix this year. We currently have a strong presence in the enterprise segment, which we will continue to grow. At the same time, we would also like to focus on and develop the commercial and tier two markets. We believe that our partners and distributors have an important role to play in helping us tapping opportunities in these segments.
As enterprise technology grows, the focus has shifted from adopting a technology to adopting it right. We at Citrix, continue to nurture our partners, so as to make them specialist in their respective field. As a recognized Citrix Specialist, our partners are able to better differentiate capabilities and offerings to ensure customers can optimize their investments in Citrix technologies.
How does Citrix enable tools for partners to engage with customers?
We at Citrix believe in following an inclusive growth model. To ensure our partners grow with us, Citrix’s Strategic Development Fund was introduced to help our partners grow their business and win new accounts. Citrix has started a Specialization program around Mobility, Networking and Virtualization, which provides groundwork for partners to demonstrate technical competency, end-to-end sales capability, and service delivery to customers.
To achieve ‘Specialist’ status, a partner has to undergo a series of e-learning courses and the most advanced technical certifications, provide customer testimonials, and demonstrate design and implementation competencies. The aim behind this is to make sure that our partners are experts in their respective domain and competent to address complex IT issues.
Additionally, we conduct enablement and pre-sales sessions for our partners, to hand hold them through every detail of a product before it is launched. This makes them proficient enough to solve any complex issue that may arise in the future and results in better customer engagement. We have a dedicated education arm for on demand access to information for partners. This provides for hands on training on implementation of products any time that the partners desires.
What are the key market segments that Citrix is looking at?
We are constantly exploring newer geographies and verticals for viable business opportunities. While we will continue to focus on the enterprise segment, we will put more vigour and energy in segments like SMB/Commercial and Government/PSU.
