Hitachi Vantara is aiming to treble the size of its UK business by pursuing a partner-first model, UK&I Country Manager Garry Hodgkinson has told IT Channel Oxygen.
The storage vendor had a “minimal channel presence” in the UK when Hodgkinson joined the business two-and-a-half years ago.
The aim now is for all new customers to be indirect, Hodgkinson said.
“I have a rather ambitious growth target for the next three financial years, and that is to triple the size of the UK business,” he said.
“And as part of that, a critical key pillar for me is our channel.
“We have a partner-first strategy. To be honest, that’s a massive change from what I inherited when I joined the organisation back in December 2021.”
“Partners can make money from selling Hitachi Vantara”
Hitachi Vantara offers “enterprise-class storage” for price points that are commercially attractive in the mid-range, Hodgkinson said.
Its new Virtual Storage Platform One platform offers a “new level of automation and ease of use,” while its products on average emit 36% less carbon than competitors because all the engineering is carried out in Japan, he added.
The modern infrastructure, data management and digital solutions specialist also claims to have an “industry-leading” deal registration programme.
“We protect [partners] from a technical perspective and also from a price perspective. But also, it’s a margin-rich opportunity for the partners. They can make money from selling Hitachi Vantara,” Hodgkinson said.
Vision to be “data and storage vendor of choice”
However, moving from a direct sales to channel-led approach “has not been easy,” Hodgkinson acknowledged.
“It takes years to build up trust but only a moment to destroy it,” he explained.
“I’ve personally met all of our selected value-added resellers and their sales teams, to reinforce the message that we are partner first and trustworthy, and that we’ve got industry-leading products and great technical resources around our solutions – plus that the deal registration programme is very attractive, so individuals can make margin.
“On top of that, we live and breathe sustainability at Hitachi Vantara further reducing emissions and power consumption with every new array we bring to market, which is a very appealing proposition for partners and customers.
“I’ve recruited a lot of client directors that have channel experience. I myself spent four years at Nutanix prior to coming to Hitachi Vantara and was at HP [for] 15 years working with the channel. For me, channel-first comes naturally.”
Hitachi Vantara is looking to go “deep and broad” with a few selected partners that are “hungry to capture market share,” Hodgkinson said.
“I want the VARs and GSIs to say ‘Hitachi Vantara is my number one data and storage vendor. That’s my ultimate goal,” he concluded.
This article was produced in association with Hitachi Vantara and is classified as partner content. What is partner content? See more here.
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
