Welcome to MSP Insights’ second episode of achieving amazing sales results through partner collaboration within an ecosystem. This webinar series will help you to understand why partner to partner (P2P) relationships are important for the success of your business. P2P is becoming more and more important because more companies are adopting the partner ecosystem model.

On June 28, hosts Norma Watenpaugh (Phoenix Consulting Group), Gary Lam (Kokua Consulting Group), Dede Haas (DLH Services), and guest Nancy Ridge (Ridge Innovative) discussed how insanely great solutions are the result of innovating around the customer experience for compelling business outcomes. In subsequent webinars, we will drill down on specific topics such as winning the deal.

If you want more information on partner ecosystems or would like to join our live webinars, please visit Partner to Partner Collaboration.

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In this Partner to Partner Collaboration recipe, designing the solution is step one of five in delivering amazing sales results.

Join us in a lively roundtable discussion on how insanely great solutions are the result of innovating around the customer experience and solving for compelling business outcomes. Our special guest panelist is Nancy Ridge, President of Ridge Innovative. Nancy Ridge is a trusted advisor to her clients. She brings a laser focus on enabling business outcomes through technology. In addition, Ridge offers programs for developing channel ecosystems through automated enablement, leadership coaching, team selling, and one on one professional coaching. Nancy has built ecosystems and led them. Ridge led sales for a high-touch wholesale carrier where she was responsible for creating and managing the indirect sales channel. The company won #41 on the “Inc. 500” list of fastest-growing companies with over 2,000% growth. She is the co-founder and past president of the Alliance of Channel Women, a Silver Stevie recipient for Executive of the Year, a certified WBENC, sits on the Boards of 3 non-profits and is an enthusiastic mentor for women and girls in both the workplace and her community.

“Step one to faster sales, bigger deals, and higher close rates Steve Jobs was quoted: ‘Start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology’. We think that this is the genius behind “insanely great” products and is the secret sauce in Partner to Partner Collaboration.”

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However, being successful is all about staying on top of ourselves and our organizations, which means regular evaluations.

• How am I doing? What do I need to change?
• How am I staying productive in this work from anywhere environment?
• Are my employees staying motivated and happy to deliver a great partner experience & customer experience, and ultimately revenue for the business?
• How is digital transformation continuing to occur in our businesses?
• Am I taking advantage of the private equity funds to grow my own business?

Today is the day we should be taking action. We have to allow disruption to have a positive impact.

TUNE IN

“What will you do to lead your company into the possibilities that your vision has laid out for you?”

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In late September, I received an email from the Women’s Business Enterprise Council informing me Ridge Innovative is now a certified woman owned business. This wonderful message was the culmination of 9 months of filings, follow-ups and interviews. The 9-month time period wasn’t lost on me as it feels like a new birth for my company. I felt proud and excited as well as the familiar rush of adrenaline & resolve as I realized the work is just beginning. Although Ridge Innovative was originally founded in 2016, gaining this certification makes tangible my claim of being a part of the DE&I movement.

It’s more important than ever as women owned businesses need support. A recent study conducted by Silicon Valley Bank showed that only one in four startups have a female founder. They also report, it’s harder for startups with one or more female founder to secure funding. Eighty-seven percent said it was “somewhat or extremely challenging.” A recent episode of my podcast, Culture of Innovation tells the story of one woman who has taken up the challenge and faced real bias.

I am keenly aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has further widened the disparity between women-owned businesses, particularly those owned by women of color. Numerous studies have shown women are bearing the brunt of this health crisis for their families and loved ones, reducing the time, energy and resources available to grow their own businesses.

So today, women-owned businesses need our support now more than ever and Ridge Innovative is no exception. It has long been my personal mission to bring awareness to the importance of closing the revenue and employment gap. Won’t you make a choice to support a women-owned business? That commitment will not only help to fuel economic growth and recovery, but also will empower women as leaders and bring about a more diverse, balanced and sustainable economy.

References:

https://ridgeinnovative.com/rise-huffman-innovation-with-heart-s1-ep-11/

https://ridgeinnovative.com/power-women-alliance-innovation-in-alliances-season-1-ep6/

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“It has long been my personal mission to bring awareness to the importance of closing the revenue and employment gap.”

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Join us on Market Impact Insights Podcast, Episode 35, as we reveal how digital transformation is revolutionizing how business ecosystems work in propelling partnering organizations to long term success–along with advice for impactful leadership in these times of change.

Nancy Ridge, Founder and President of Ridge Innovative, joins Dan Albaum to reveal how the continuous evolution of business ecosystems is fueling digital transformation and long term success for organizations around the world. With decades of experience strategically managing the Channel, Nancy shares best practices for effective leadership in the midst of this technology “revolution”.

EPISODE 35: Nancy Ridge – Demystifying Ecosystems

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“Thanks Dan Albaum for the opportunity to speak on a topic I’m passionate about. Studies show 46% of executives are actively seeking ecosystems & new business models. Why? Growth & Survival!”

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Temperatures in the low 50’s, steadily falling rain and a stiff breeze didn’t deter a healthy group of digital leaders from showing up at the annual IDC Conference in Silicon Valley this year. Senior Analyst, Frank Gens congratulated the crowd of mostly CIO’s and CTO’s for their hardiness and commitment to receiving the message of “Multiplied Innovation: Scaling a Technology Revolution”. As he launched into his comprehensive, on-point assessment of what we can expect in the next 5 years, I felt the lightness and excitement in the room overtake the grey outdoors to create an atmosphere of possibility that would fuel the day into overdrive for the next 8 hours.

Massive technological changes

Since 2014, we’ve witnessed massive changes in technology and how it’s used, who is buying it, and what’s driving innovation. Cloud, social, mobility, and anywhere access have driven transformation across every segment of business, government, education, non-profits and consumers. Organizations are beginning to embrace technologies like SD-WAN, UCaaS, and big data analytics to enable them to remain competitive and relevant. AWS and Azure have brought cloud to the masses and established themselves as the dominant platforms for digital transformation. Whole new eco-systems of service providers have sprung up in response to the changing needs of both the enterprise and SMB’s.

From my vantage point, the next phase of this “technology revolution” will allow me to support my clients in their new digital world; the reality that on-going innovation will become the “new normal”. More than ever, I am inspired to help them choose the right partners.

A few of the tastiest tidbits I took from a packed day that barely scratched the surface of what was being presented, included:

• Edge computing is the future of distributed networks and IoT. The big public cloud players like AWS, Amazon, and Microsoft need to get to the Edge quickly…in factories, banks, schools, retail stores…everywhere. This is where the next generation of technologies like blockchain, IoT, and AI will find distribution that will move the most important stacks from the core data center to the end user. Solving the latency problem is the driver and companies who can deliver the technology to the Edge in a cost effective manner that gives customers visibility and control will be leaders in this massive shift. IDC predicts 65% of operations will be at the Edge by 2022.
• Business outcomes are what matter. As I continue to seek to align myself with all the stakeholders in my customers’ organizations, choosing the right platform partners while focusing on scale, expansion, and new technologies will demonstrate recognition of the many problems they must solve to meet increasing compliance requirements, respond to greater security and privacy threats and remain competitive.
• I will continue to effectively deliver all forms of access, especially 5G as it becomes available. A distributed, secure network that can respond to customer needs quickly will be critical. Focusing on seamless delivery that is easy to deploy, consume and manage will be a key driver as well as maintaining and expanding my eco-system of providers for flexible IT consumption and purchasing models. This eco-system will address both the mega platform providers as well as emerging tier 2 and MSP’s who can better serve the SMB.
• AI, and IoT will be critical. IDT predicts the top digital transformational use cases for AI will be: Customer Service, Threat/Fraud Analysis, Sales Recommendation & Automation, and Diagnostics & Treatment in HC. My objective will be to ask and answer the right questions, to be bold and to align with the things customers care about and will care about, creating processes that allow them to establish new KPI’s as they commit to their digital direction and set about executing it…always paying close attention to choosing the right partners along the way.
• Filling the Gaps A parting observation is that the gap I get to fill as trusted advisor is more critical than ever. Hiring and retaining the specialized talent needed in today’s enterprise is not getting easier or more cost effective so managed services will play a more significant role. IDT shared that 70% of organizations are having trouble sourcing skills. Management of discrete environments such as apps, infrastructure, network services and cloud services will be necessary. Helping customers adapt their cultures to embrace outsourcing and managed services will require sensitivity, empathy and a commitment to making positive change for valued employees while being agile enough to meet the dynamic needs of the organization.

Continuing to build relationships and actively collaborate with my partners who are positioning themselves to play their part in this “technology revolution” will be the key to success. To quote Frank Gens, “It is time for everyone who wants to be a part of this exciting, innovative revolution to step away from where we’ve been and get ready for the ride up the curve, it’ll be great.” Let’s go!

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“… the next phase of this “technology revolution” will allow me to support my clients in their new digital world; the reality that on-going innovation will become the “new normal.”

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