Q&A with Our Very Own Channel Chief

As was mentioned last week, Bob Palumbo, Vice President of Channel Marketing for Progress, has been named one of CRN’s 2012 Channel Chiefs.

I sat down and had a conversation with Bob to talk about this tremendous accomplishment. I wanted to hear it from him – in his own words – what makes our Progress Partner Program so successful and how Progress is adapting the program to address changes in the marketplace moving forward. Enjoy!

This is the 8th consecutive year that a Progress executive has been recognized with a Channel Chief award. What do you think attributes to the longevity and success of our Channel Program?

A major differentiator to the Progress Channel Program is that Progress works with its partners throughout the entire business opportunity cycle, from concept to optimization. We understand that successful growth strategies must go through multiple stages, so our Program is designed to help partners achieve their long-term growth objectives.

In your opinion, what are the traits of a “good partner”? 

We accomplish the most with partners that have a willingness to share their ideas and plans and those that are open additional input. Because of our shared success business model, companies that see Progress as a true partner rather than a supplier of technology gain much more value from the program.

What are the long-term benefits of joining a Partner Program?

Companies within our Progress Partner Program ecosystem are able to collaborate with Progress as well as each other. Our program members truly value hearing about successes and failures from other partners, and are able to learn from other experiences. While Progress has years of learning and visibility into numerous partners businesses, it is the unique “tales from the trenches” aspect that really add additional value to partners and it is what makes many Progress partners glad they joined.

What does the next generation of the channel look like? 

The next-generation channel will be hyper-connected. Our partners will have Progress, our partner ecosystem, and our tools and services at their fingertips. There will also be an additional level of visibility and transparency to activities and transactions. All of this will lead to a more frictionless model where partners are empowered to grow their business at increasing rates.

How is Progress adapting its Partner Program to address these changes?

Progress is investing in new tools to improve the interaction and connectivity within the community. These online tools, such as the revamped Partner Portal (to be launched in Q3-FY2012), will bring many new capabilities to our channel along with programs to encourage usage and improve the value of those tools.

Congratulations again, Bob!

Thanks and, as always, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.