NetApp UK claims service provider market victory

UK boss claims local service provider business has quadrupled as corporate heads talk up the opportunity to partners

NetApp UK's service provider business has quadrupled in the past three years, according to its country manager, who claims the UK is leading the way in the company's services business.

At the vendor's Partners and Pathways Summit in Venice this week, the firm talked up its growing service provider business, but its UK managing director Dave Allen said the UK was well ahead of the company curve.

Speaking in a keynote speech, NetApp's global senior director of emerging channels Chris Morgan told the 200 attendees how services were a key part of the vendor's global business, and the marketplace as a whole.

Last week, IBM lost out on a $600bn (£389bn) services deal with the CIA to Amazon, despite offering a lower-cost solution, claimed Morgan, who added that this is a turning point in the marketplace.

He said: "[To plan our upcoming three-year service provider strategy] we did a bunch of surveys, and the number one thing that came back as the reason why service providers buy NetApp was not our technology, it was this partner programme. Our number one differentiation is [our partners]. This has caused us to win over competitors many times our size, some with lower price, because they do not understand the service provider business.

"Three years ago when I started talking to you about what would happen in the service provider space, nobody in this room would have thought IBM would have lost out to Amazon. There are some lessons here: we have to admit at this point public cloud services are legitimate – customers are spending money on them and are a significant part of our future.

"Three years ago, people were asking about ‘what if' the service provider business takes off – we're beyond it now."

He added that the channel has been a key part of NetApp's service provider strategy from day one, claiming that services players are "nothing more than a channel partner".

Locally, Allen said the UK market has been ripe for services, meaning its regional business has thrived.

He said: "Within the UK business, we invested several years ago in service providers – we are ahead of the curve in most of NetApp. The UK market has been more ready: our service provider business in the past three years has grown four times – it is significant growth. We have 22 certified service providers... and it's a critical area for us."