People, Programs And Tools To Activate Partners

THE POWER OF LENOVO 360

People, Programs And Tools To Activate Partners

Lenovo has taken bold action to adapt to the new realities of IT. Organizations have accelerated timetables for digital transformation given an urgent need to deliver more business value and flawless experiences. Staying agile is imperative in an unpredictable world. As customer demand for advanced IT surges, Lenovo is re-imagining its channel approach from the highest levels of corporate strategy to the foundational tactics of partner engagement.

“We see the market shifting to become more service- and solutions-based,” says Je Taylor, executive director, Global Channel Programs & Marketing, at Lenovo.

In response, “we are activating the Lenovo 360 framework,” he continues. “We need to make sure we have the right people, programs and tools as we expand our routes to market.”

JEFF TAYLOR

Executive Director, Global Channel Programs & Marketing

The Power Of People

“People are Lenovo’s biggest strength,” says Fiona O’Brien, vice president, Sales Transformation & Enablement, International Markets, at Lenovo. “The next step is how do we redesign our go-to-market strategy to unlock the power of the Lenovo portfolio and make it easier for our partners to engage with us.”

It begins with empowering people—both Lenovo employees and the partner ecosystem—to meet customers’ need for complex IT solutions and more fl exible consumption models.

Under the Lenovo 360 framework, partners will now have a concierge-like experience when dealing with the company. A dedicated partner account manager will oversee the relationship, streamlining access to Lenovo’s sales, technical and other specialized resources across the solution portfolio.

“The partner account manager is your door opener, and they will navigate through Lenovo so you have access to the specialists and everything else you need,” says O’Brien.

Programs To Accelerate Growth

“There’s an opportunity for partners to expand and attract new customers by bringing in other aspects of our portfolio,” says Taylor. “Partners who have sold PCs and client [devices] can move into data center infrastructure sales to create a stickier Lenovo-based relationship.”

Whether it’s partners that have traditionally sold PCs or mobile phones reaching for opportunities in the data center or hybrid cloud domain or data center-focused partners expanding their smart collaboration or edge computing practices, partners are rewarded under Lenovo’s Better Together program.

Partners who sell across Lenovo’s portfolio have individual targets for endpoint, data center infrastructure and services. Partners who hit two of those

targets receive a 20 percent accelerator stacked on top of existing incentives. If they achieve all three, they will get a 30 percent accelerator.

Tools That Simplify

Underpinning the shift to services and solutions are additional marketing, sales and training resources. New tools help get the word out to prospective buyers faster and with less e ort.

“In North America, we’re going to introduce through-channel marketing programs, which is a great initiative for partners who don’t have the size to create marketing campaigns from end to end on their own,” says Taylor. Twotrees Technologies, a solution provider specializing in K-12 education and enterprise, has experienced the value fi rsthand. “Twotrees has worked closely with Lenovo over the years, fi ne-tuning our marketing campaigns and messages,” says Susie Smith, general manager, Twotrees. “Lenovo has always been very responsive and fl exible and treats us as a partner instead of dictating the campaigns to us like other manufacturers.”

The marketing support was especially appreciated during COVID, she notes, when she worked closely with Lenovo to create targeted social media campaigns and engaging videos for virtual reality and hybrid learning solutions.

The Lenovo Partner Hub is being enhanced with additional marketing and training resources. Partners can get immediate quotes on as-a-service o erings through the Lenovo Bid Platform. Robust solution builders help partners customize solutions for their customers, while training resources help teams develop new skills and competencies.

“The vendors who rise to the top are the ones who support their partners,” says O’Brien. “We want to make it easy for partners to do business with us and provide the right information at the right time to drive mutual success.”

Expanding Routes To Market

Lenovo is expanding its own reach to meet the demand for complex IT solutions from MSPs, global systems integrators and telecom service providers.

Selling both mobile devices and edge computing solutions, for example, can allow service providers to monetize their 5G investments faster. By partnering with Lenovo, global consulting fi rms can deliver better outcomes for joint customers.

MSPs are a major area of growth for Lenovo, as traditional resellers add to their services portfolio and born-in-the-cloud MSPs that are extending their reach.

“Many resellers are becoming managed service providers because they see the value in including services, rather than reselling technology,” says Jose Luis Fernandez, vice president, Global Channels, International Markets, at Lenovo. “Lenovo can work with resellers to help with how they go to market and their overall needs as they make the transition.”

Fernandez emphasizes the importance of fi ne-tuning the company’s go-to-market strategy for the nuances of di erent channel segments.

Move At Your Own Pace

Partners can make the transition to services with no disruption to their current way of doing business. Or they don’t need to change at all.

Taylor invites partners to consider the future of complex IT solutions.

“We have partners who are very comfortable selling Lenovo PCs or elements of our data center portfolio, and we love them,” he says. “If you are comfortable on your journey, keep going. But if you want to come on this journey with us, there will be more earning opportunities for you.” 

FIONA O’BRIEN

Vice President, Sales Transformation & Enablement, International Markets

JOSE LUIS FERNANDEZ

Vice President, Global Channels, International Markets