In your pantheon on vendors, how important is ServiceNow to Exclusive Networks?
It’s a massive opportunity if we do it right. We don’t see it as competing; we see it as complementary. One of the things we’re working very hard on right now is what we call hero plays. So how do we connect ServiceNow to a Fortinet, for instance? That’s a massive opportunity and a massive partner base for us. How do we create the story that means we can go forward and use the partners we have today as opportunity?
I think the other thing it does also is open up a conversation because ServiceNow is not another vendor. It’s a platform play, and it really does open up those conversations to parts of the business we may not have had access to before.
What’s your message to the ServiceNow partners?
I want them to engage early, and meet with our teams to understand the value that partnering with a distributor like us could bring.
One opportunity is that ServiceNow doesn’t do any level of financing for partners or customers. That speeds up deals. That’s something we can help with. We also have XPI, Exclusive Pipeline Insights, which allows us to focus on the type of customers we should be focusing on and creating pipelines. That’s something that we’re building right now.
Is there anything else that you’d want to emphasise?
The question I get from partners is why is it the right time right now for Exclusive and ServiceNow to come together? And it’s that convergence of AI, cybersecurity, and workflow automation. Customers are increasingly wanting integrated platforms rather than isolated solutions, and this starts to bring everything together.
What we would hope to do with the partnership is reduce the complexity in terms of these conversations, create faster solutions, and be very focused on business outcomes.
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
