Recently, when asked to describe my role as chief cloud officer at AVANT, I said that my primary function is similar to that of a curator. A curator, whose mission is to select the best options in cloud computing and subsequently present them to AVANT’s partners, enabling them to provide their customers the best cloud solutions based on their specific needs. Whether they’re looking for improved security, or simply a cloud solution compatible with their on-premises infrastructure, my goal is to provide customized, best-in-class solutions.
What’s more, I hope to fulfill this goal while also providing a seamless sales experience for our partners. It‘s for this reason that my No. 1 mission here at AVANT is to build a one-of-a-kind technology platform that will transform the way our channel partners sell cloud solutions.
Why do I believe we need a technology platform for the channel? For starters, a comprehensive solution that enables VARs and agents to access everything from billing to training to pricing all in one simple-to-use interface doesn’t exist. Our goal at AVANT is to fill this gap so that our partners can qualify opportunities quicker and gain access to important resources they need throughout the sales process, such as training and billing options.
In doing so, our partners will be able to provide more positive experiences to their customers by offering a smoother, more informed and quicker sales process. And, as one good turn deserves another, we anticipate that these experiences will turn into more sales of our cloud solutions for our partners—all by way of our platform.
Additionally, a technology platform will enable AVANT to better grow and scale as a company. Our platform, which will be accessible as a portal for our partners, will effectively support our VARs and agents as we expand our offerings, providing a strong foundation to support processes. In this way, the technology platform will be critical to our future success.
For instance, the first key area of focus for building this platform will be flexible billing to help support subscription-based services. In order to provide this type of billing services our partners will need access to a more sophisticated billing process which will be accessible through our portal.
Additionally, we’ll be able to position all of our VARs and agents as the most valuable, informed cloud experts in the game, as the portal will also provide access to the latest information about the industry. Our mission is to provide both quick (one- to five-minute) training tips and more-intensive training sessions that enable our partners to gain certification in particular products or services.
As well, we hope to eventually integrate a full product catalog that will help partners keep up to date with the products that we offer. We also aim to implement pricing into this model so that partners can gain self-reliance in providing quotes. That is, rather than possibly enduring a lengthy turnaround time whenever they need to provide a customer quote, they can simply access pricing information through the portal.
At AVANT, we have an explosive vision that we know will transform the channel like never before. So, keep your eyes on us as we innovate and grow.