Kolkata: US-based technology provider, CA Technologies that creates software for digital transformation, is currently looking at specialist channel partners to lead its growth in the Asia Pacific market and India, in particular, which it referred to as its ‘key growth market.’
“In India, the company is focusing on partner-led growth by appointing specialized partners as well as plans on training and supporting existing ones to cater to its customers needs,” Kenneth Arredondo, President & General Manager of Asia Pacific & Japan, CA Technologies, told Channel Times at the CA World 2016 held at Las Vegas in November.
Specialist partners in the app economy
The rising adoption of new and disruptive technologies as well as changing customer demand, is forcing technology companies to change their business roadmap and for CA too, the changes are quite visible. Right from its mainframe business, the company moved into cloud, analytics and mobility and now eyeing more advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence [AI] and Internet of Things [IoT].
“It’s here that we look at specialist partners who can sell software to not only make money but create a greater business value to the customers,” explained Arredondo.
“As the world is going agile, enterprise customers are looking to buy technology more and more as a service. Likewise channel partners have also transcended from being mere resellers of technology to value added partners looking to create a differentiation.
The trend in the app economy demands agility and flexibility from partners to deliver technology the way customers want to buy. “We see the same trend globally and across Asia as well as in India where we see managed service providers are taking a large leap in delivering technology as a service to meet customer demands,” he said, adding that the company bifurcates its partners domain-wise, such as security partners, infrastructure partners etc. and support them through partner programs to improvise on their skillsets.
The India Growth Story
Arredondo believes that India’s potential in terms of skillsets and technology innovation is very impressive. “And hence CA is stepping up its game through enablement and training to its specialized set of partners – including resellers, MSPs and distributors – to cultivate and harness their innovation and take it to a much broad scale.”
As far as the channel is concerned, there are two very critical areas where the company is focusing on in the coming year. One, to engage with partners through training, enablement program and high quality content and software accessibility; second is creating specialized partners in the mobility domain – an area where India can play a key role, being a mobile-dominated country.
“We are seeking to align with partners in India that can reach into that (mobility) domain. There is huge opportunity for partners and with a company like CA technologies in existence since thirty seven years. We have breadth of customers and the depth of technology to take it forward in the right direction in fast changing technology world,” he stated.
To further strengthen its channel footprints in India, CA recently appointed industry veteran, Saivijay Khanagav, as the Senior Director to lead its Partners and Alliances business for the India & SAARC region.
In a telephonic conversation with CXOtoday, Khanagav said last week, in his new role, he is focused on building a comprehensive channel strategy that would not only establish strategic collaborative relationships in the region, but will help customers in their digital transformation journey to win in the application economy. Based in Bangalore, he reports to Sunil Mangalore, Managing Director, CA Technologies India, to explore regional opportunities and country specific relationships.
In an earlier conversation, Mangalore said, “Channels are a critical component of CA Technologies business model. We are deeply committed to making strategic investment in this area.”
At present, CA has development centers in Hyderabad and Bangalore. [Read the full story here]
Embarking on its next phase of growth, the company is looking to have a strong partner channel framework that will help in building a key differentiator for itself in the marketplace. As Arredondo concluded, “At CA Technologies, we are listening to our partners to not only help them do their business but also looking at building the future together.”