A big shout out to Extreme’s SVP of Global Channel Sales, Scott Peterson, who was today named one of the 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs. The list recognizes top IT channel vendor executives who consistently defend, promote, and execute effective channel partner programs and strategies. Scott’s expertise and tenacity for strategic execution has been vital to our success this past year.
In Scott’s day-to-day role, he oversees Extreme’s partnerships with our resellers, distributors, and service providers, as well as sales enablement training. When he joined Extreme about a year ago, he immediately took action to better align our internal teams with our partner ecosystem. As a result, we achieved record YoY bookings growth driven by global partners and resellers. Scott also managed the rollout of the Extreme Game Center, an app that gamifies our Extreme Sales Specialist (ESS) training for our partners and internal team, which has seen considerable adoption across partner organizations.
“Once again, this year’s list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers.”
The channel is a technology company’s force multiplier. An effective channel motion allows providers to reach global scale almost instantly but still be approachable and nimble to customer needs since the relationship with the end-users’ technology consultants is very local, organic, and often based on years of working together across the IT ecosystem.
The supply chain landscape may continue to be a challenge for our partners in 2023, but we will continue to work transparently to minimize any impact felt by customers. Additionally, partners will need to get used to managing the new demand curve; expectations around growth and networking have changed. To succeed, everyone in the partner ecosystem must figure out how to harness those expectations effectively and help customers prioritize.
To succeed in 2023, I would advise that channel partners invest in three areas: (1) maximizing customer experience capabilities to help ensure successful deployments, (2) mastering disciplined planning and execution of market events to maximize ROI, and (3) accelerating the move to MSP models to take advantage of the growing number of subscription-based solutions in our portfolio.
It’s been my honor watching Extreme take share in all markets where we do business. My greatest accomplishment, however, is watching my four kids (ages 20, 18, 17, and 9) continue to navigate the path to adulthood whilst not totally giving up the exuberance and limitless possibilities of youth.
Want to learn more about Extreme’s Partner Program? Visit our Partner Page.
The 2023 Channel Chief list will be featured in the February issue of CRN Magazine and can be found online at CRN Channel Chiefs.
