‘We intend to hit and exceed our targets’: Assured’s newly appointed Americas channel sales VP

Tony Giannini speaks to CRN about the MSP’s American ambitions, partner tiering and evolving vendor relationships

Following momentum in the Americas, Leeds-based MSP Assured Data Protection has recently named Tony Giannini as VP of channel sales across the continent.

The organisation now intends to “hit and exceed” its targets in the region, Giannini tells CRN.

Since May, the exec has also led Assured’s global innovation strategy, a role he will continue alongside his new tenure.

“We feel this is a really good synergy, because we can bring the products that we’re building to market faster through a direct connection into the channel team,” he explains.

“Ultimately, this cuts out any middle layers. The training, enablement, planning and execution can all be done effectively in this single leadership construct.

“We felt strongly that the channel could benefit from the spirit of innovation in everything that we do.”

US, Canada and LATAM ambitions

The company’s largest footprint in the Americas is the US, where it operates an office in Virginia.

It also plans to evolve in Canada by leveraging distributorships.

Across Latin America, which Giannini describes as a “wonderful, unique marketplace to operate in”, the MSP is currently evaluating which partnerships will provide the most progress.

While the firm is “a tick behind” in the region compared with Canada, it is seeing transactional success through its sales team, collaborators and customers.

The exec identifies Mexico as the main target there but also sees opportunities in Peru and Ecuador.

Beyond its US office, Assured is open to launching physical locations in other countries, depending on where it has a concentration of employees.

“We want a place for them to work together, to collaborate, to use for customer on-sites and things of that nature,” he says.

“We’re open to physical sites or physical buildings in Latin America and Canada. We’re building towards that.”

Despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty under Donald Trump’s presidency, Giannini insists Assured’s mission remains focused on helping customers and partners achieve cyber resilience and disaster recovery outcomes, independent of geopolitical developments.

“We’re not interested in engaging in geopolitics. We’re focused on listening to our clients and helping them achieve the outcomes they need,” he highlights.

Partner tiers

The MSP segments its Americas operations across three types of partner tiers: performance, growth and developing, all of which have direct relationships with end customers.

Performance collaborators are those generating a significant amount of revenue, explains Giannini.

Growth associates are organisations where Assured sees an opportunity to accelerate success, while developing partners may have engaged opportunistically but show growth potential.

“We prioritise and resource these partnerships differently to drive maximum impact,” notes the Americas boss.

“All of this is centred on value-based engagements; understanding what’s valuable to the partner and their customers and engaging in a way that aligns with how they engage their clients.”

He adds that while developing partners make up the largest group by volume across the region, growth and performance collaborators account for the most significant portion of its top line.

Channel relationships

In addition to “hundreds of partner relationships”, the MSP has alliances with fewer than 20 OEMs and distributors in the region.

Its strongest business tie is with Rubrik, which Giannini describes as the foremost cyber resilience solution in the market.

It also collaborates with Nutanix and Zerto.

The leader hinted at further vendor collaborations in the coming weeks to develop its offering.

In terms of disties, the company works with AVANT, Telarus, Intelisys and Arrow.

Growth sectors and the people serving them

Across these markets, the business works with sectors most heavily impacted by cyberattackers.

“Healthcare is a major focus,” the Americas VP of channel sales tells CRN.

“Financial services, including credit unions and retail finance, also require significant support.

“Legal, manufacturing, and public sector, including state, local and education, are all heavily targeted.”

To serve these clients, the firm employs three leaders, each overseeing teams of around six people.

It also has a channel senior exec overlay providing coverage for the US channel.

In November, the company launched a US public sector division, led by Patrick Vaughan.

“[Vaughan] is making sure we have the proper certifications to support those types of customers,” explains Giannini.

“We have clients that are engaging with us specifically on the Rubrik platform and we are looking forward to making that a big piece of our business moving forward.”