‘I’d love to see our partners transacting cloud’: Veeam SVP of worldwide cloud sales

Brandt Urban reflects on the cloud hangover, MSPs strategy, and competitors

Veeam, the data protection and cyber resilience vendor, is enhancing its focus towards cloud.

But when selling cloud solutions to partners, new challenges, such as training and comprehension, might appear.

To better understand Veeam’s strategy and how it aims to help firms across the channel, CRN sat down with Brandt Urban, the company’s SVP or worldwide cloud sales.

What are the main challenges you face when offering cloud solutions to partners, in terms of training or comprehension?

“Sometimes partners had a setup where they were selling software alongside servers, storage, and networking.

“It was more of a hardware-based sales approach.

“Now, if that same team is selling SaaS solutions, they’re not selling hardware as well, just the service.

“That’s one challenge - helping them understand the difference between selling a service versus hardware.

“Often, partners also have a cloud division, so we have to break into that division to make sure they’re equipped to sell the solution.

“What we want to avoid is internal rivalry within the partner’s organisation and help them feel they can sell either approach.

“We provide the same sales collateral, enablement sessions, and training for both internal teams and partners.

“Our channel managers help steer us towards the right divisions within those partners.

“For example, if a partner has a cloud division, we need to ensure we’re engaging with them.

“With our top partners, we hold executive alignment meetings and strategy sessions to discuss how we can work more closely together.

“That’s how I see it happening on a day-to-day basis.”

What specific supports are you offering MSPs to scale services profitably with Veeam’s cloud stack?

“In terms of channel margin, Veeam Data Cloud offers our standard channel margin.

“We also recently announced a big deal registration incentive.

“This incentive is designed to help drive adoption of Veeam Data Cloud and is better for Veeam Data Cloud than for other products, so it’s a great way to reward our partners.

“We’ve structured it to benefit their sales teams, as it’s tied to upfront payments, not just back-end rebates, which helps make it attractive for their sales reps too.

“We focus on training that behaviour.”

Keep reading to find out more about Veeam’s strategy to stay competitive against cloud-native vendors and the VMware – Broadcom acquisition...

How can you ensure that your cloud channel stays competitive against, perhaps, newer cloud-native data protection vendors?

“I don’t think there’s a secret formula for that.

“I believe it comes down to really leaning into channel enablement and working closely with partners.

“For example, I’ve gone on a tour of our top five transacting resellers in the US.

“We went through executive meetings, followed by field team sessions where we discussed strategy and shared insights.

“We also conducted specific working sessions to help them practice their skills.

“You need to give people at-bats, and that’s how you build their confidence.”

Has Veeam doubled down on its cloud strategy since the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom?

“I believe the timing of VMware being acquired by Broadcom was coincidental with our strategy.

“What we’ve seen is a clear demand from customers for SaaS applications and cloud solutions.

“In on-prem environments, you want data close to your storage because of big data feeds.

“With SaaS applications, the data is in the cloud, and customers expect the same simplicity from data protection.

“They don’t want to manage on-prem infrastructure just to back up their SaaS service.

“While the Broadcom acquisition was happening, the demand for SaaS and cloud-based solutions was already evident to us, and we’ve focused on that.”

What would success look like for you in the next 12 months in cloud? What are your expectations, and what do you hope for?

“We’ve recently launched two products on Veeam Data Cloud: Entra ID and Salesforce.

“We now have five solutions on VDC.

“Our expectation is that these will contribute significantly to our new revenue this year.

“I hope to see a large percentage of our partner base transacting cloud.

“If we achieve that, it will signal that the channel has picked up the strategy.

“I’m closely monitoring channel activation, not just depth within individual partners, but also breadth across the channel and VCSPS.

“Ideally, I’d like to see 85 to 90 per cent of our channel partners transacting cloud, which would show that they’ve embraced the strategy and are aligned with what we’re doing.”

Next: Veeam’s response to the “cloud hangover” and helping traditional resellers shift to cloud...

Some resellers in Europe mentioned a ‘cloud hangover’. They referred to how some customers feel disappointed because they don’t fully understand the cloud yet, find the costs too high, and don’t feel they’re getting the results they expected. How does Veeam ensure this doesn’t happen to your customers?

“There’s a lot of education that has gone on with customers over the years, especially regarding public cloud from the hyperscalers.

“Being on cloud gives them opportunities they didn’t have before, it frees up resources, and the environment is always up to date.

“We try to educate customers, especially those who might be sceptical, by showing them the tangible benefits: lower total cost of ownership, time savings, and reduced need for in-house hardware configuration expertise.

“In the worst-case scenario, we tell them to try it out.

“It’s easy to test, and if they’re not satisfied after a month, we can wipe the environment clean.”

How is Veeam supporting traditional resellers making the shift to cloud and MSP models?

“For resellers shifting to selling cloud, we need to help them understand how to pitch cloud.

“The transition from selling on-prem solutions to a service-based model is a whole different thing.

“If they haven’t built a services business before, it’s a big shift.

“There’s no company-wide strategy for helping resellers become MSPs specifically, but we do help partners understand the business impact of adding cloud services.

“We show them the different margin structures and agreement types.

“But at the end of the day, it’s up to the partner to decide whether they want to become a service provider or stay as a traditional reseller.”

Do you think partners could make more effort on their end to adapt to your solutions?

“I think many resellers are confronting the same issue, not just with Veeam but across the industry.

“Big players are changing their incentive structures, and resellers have to rethink their business models.

“Some are asking, ‘Do I transition into an MSP or remain a reseller?’

“I’ve spoken with a few CEOs who are dealing with this challenge, deciding whether to move into project management or CSP-type services.

“This is a larger industry trend, not just something specific to Veeam.

“Resellers are reevaluating their value-add services and how they fit into the evolving cloud landscape.”