Altec Begins the P2P Journey Experience
This week (July 10th – 14th), we are in Toronto at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) sharing about Altec’s experience with the P2P Maturity Model. We thought it’d be fitting to also share our experience with online readers too! Please note that this guest post chronicling Altec’s journey was written by Shann McGrail.
Part I
Altec was introduced to the P2P Maturity Model and the opportunity to engage in a “P2P Journey Experience” as the organization was looking to evolve its partnerships. “We have always worked closely with partners and our channel model has continued to develop over the last few years. At the same time, we are eager to explore new approaches that will benefit partners and our customers,” says April Blankenship, Altec’s Director of Marketing. April is joined by her colleague, Gabriela Morales, Channel Program Manager to explore the P2P Journey.
The company first heard about the P2P Maturity Model at an IAMCP SoCal meeting. Altec did not have experience using the model and was excited about the opportunity to explore it in more depth. “We’ve seen how much potential there is with the Microsoft channel and for us, success in the P2P Journey is gaining new tools and approaches to so that we can offer our partners an even better experience and to expand the number of partners we work with in the Microsoft channel,” says April.
Staying true to the P2P Maturity Model, Altec is beginning the journey experience by drilling into several important business functions it hopes to better support through partnership:
Business Planning. Today the company aligns its channel strategy to its business plans. Having reviewed this practice through the lens of the P2P model, however, April has identified that there is an opportunity to revisit the strategy and ensure that everyone is on the same page. According to April, “It’s simply good practice to be clear on the goals of our partnerships and what we want to achieve longer term. It allows us to clearly engage with existing and new partners.”
Marketing and Resources. Altec is a Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CFMD) partner and a Microsoft Gold Partner for Application Development. The company is very much interested in how the P2P model and related assets can help them further leverage these competencies in the market to grow their business with partners.
Expanding with Cloud. With an exciting new Azure-based product launch scheduled in the near-term, the timing could not be better to explore P2P. As Altec harnesses the power of the cloud it will leverage the P2P framework to plan for building a new channel while strengthening existing relationships.
When asked about what she hopes Altec will get out of participating in the P2P Journey Experience April explains, “With our new product launch and desire to expand our channel program, the timing has never been better to use a framework like the Maturity Model. Through the experience, we want to leverage our strengths and find out what other resources we can tap into so that we have a comprehensive channel program and Microsoft partners clearly see the benefits of working with us.”
The next step in the P2P Journey for Altec is to complete a P2P Maturity Model Assessment. Be sure to check back here for the next blog posting highlighting that part of the experience.
About the P2P Journey Experience
IAMCP and Microsoft are working with three partners to help them apply the P2P model to their business and assess their P2P opportunities. The experience of those organizations will be shared through a series of blog postings highlighting the beginning, middle, and end points of the P2P journey.
