The SMAs and MTI - Meet the contenders

Following its shortlist at the CRN SMA Awards, we talk to reseller MTI

Today, the CRN team is gearing up for the Sales and Marketing Awards 2023 on Thursday 29 June at Leonardo Royal Hotel, Tower Bridge.

One of the distinguished finalists at this year's awards is reseller MTI, which is a contender for Best Sales Team - Reseller.

Here we talk to its sales director - head of UK sales James Rooke about what has driven the partner's success over the last 12 months.

Why do the SMAs matter to you?

Awards like the SMA's really matter to people because they provide recognition and validation for the hard work and accomplishments of individuals and teams.

In a busy world, it gives us all the opportunity and excuse to slow down and reflect on the great work that has been done.

What would winning this award mean to your company?

The MTI sales team is a vital part of our organisation's success. Winning this award would be a remarkable achievement, and our outstanding team members truly deserve this recognition.

It would be a source of immense pride for MTI and our sales organisation, further bolstering our reputation and credibility to our customers across the public and private sector as a leading provider of hybrid infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions in the markets we serve.

What would you say is your company's proudest achievement over the past year?

It's hard to pinpoint our proudest achievement, but the hard work of our sales organisation can't be disputed. We've had a significant growth across our business due to their commitment and focus, some key numbers:

• Enterprise business revenue up by 23 per cent, driven by our dynamic focus on the right profile of customer and persona.
• Enterprise annual order volume up by 66 per cent, driven by our new POD structure enhancing internal collaboration and laser focus on set of customers to enhance outcomes.
• Public sector revenue bookings, driven by a focus on specific verticals and strategic relationships with our vendors.

What have been the biggest challenges of 2023 so far and how have you overcome them? How have your people helped with that?

The biggest challenges of 2023 so far has been the evolving threat landscape for our customers, the exponential growth of data and the challenges in managing both.

To overcome this, our senior leadership redefined our company mission, vision and strategy to align to what our customers need and the challenges they face.

We now have an updated portfolio, laser focused on customer needs and outcomes. MTI lives and breathes innovation, and our team are a testament to that.

We've invested significantly in training, forged new specialist teams to better serve our customers and with this new structure in place I'm confident we will navigate the challenges facing our customers the continued growth and satisfaction.

How do you think the channel has changed over the past year and what changes do you think it still needs to make?

The channel has changed significantly over the past year. We are settling into a new normal post pandemic, and there's now a greater opportunity to work collaboratively, add value to our customers, and engage better with each through by sharing technical expertise and services.

I still believe there is an opportunity to collaborate better across multiple partners and vendors.

The importance of an interconnected network is critical, and driving a culture in the channel which provides opportunities to collaborate, and form better strategic alliances that enable us to leverage each other's strengths and deliver comprehensive solutions to their customers.

With a more collaborative approach together we can foster innovation, accelerate product and service development, and improved overall customer experience.

What do you see as the main opportunities for the channel in the coming year? How do you plan to capitalise on those opportunities?

The channel has an array of exciting opportunities this year, with enhanced collaboration taking centre stage as mentioned above.

Another key focus lies in adding value to customers through outcome-based, solution selling rather than a narrow focus on individual products.

We're also seeing in our customer base a demand for diverse ways for customers to consume their investments - this is a big opportunity for the channel.

By providing a range of consumption choices, the channel can cater to the varied preferences of customers and ensure a seamless experience.