Andy Walsky, ExaGrid
Andy brings over 25 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles developing and executing channel and sales strategy, managing regional expansions, and driving market share and profitability.
Most recently, Andy was VP of sales for EMEA and APAC at overland storage, and prior to that he was founder and CEO of NavaStor. Before founding NavaStor, Andy served as director of EMEA marketing at Quantum.
Andy graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BSc in Accounting with Honours and holds an MBA from London Business School. Andy is fluent in two languages and enjoys skiing, mountain and rock climbing, hiking, traveling, and reading.
Number of years in current role:
8
Number of years in current company:
8
Number of years involved in indirect/channel sales:
28
Reports to:
Bill Andrews, president and CEO.
Number of employees in channel organisation:
Declined to disclose
What percentage of overall sales come through the channel?
100 per cent.
What is your personal channel philosophy?
Working with channel partners is the key to success for any company and must be treated with the highest priority. Treat the channel as you would want to be treated yourself, always be fair and keep your word.
Developing trust with channel partners is critical - it takes time to build, but it can be quickly ruined. I have deep respect for the work our channel partners do every day and they should be rewarded accordingly.
What were your biggest personal channel accomplishments over the past year?
Along with my team, we were able to onboard some of the biggest channel partners in the EMEA region during the year.
I worked with the partner management to get ExaGrid on line cards both from a commercial and technical perspective. The reception has been fantastic and it is paying dividends.
What were your organisation's biggest channel accomplishments over the past year?
- Attending 500+ events worldwide with our partners.
- Launching a YouTube video for our reseller recruitment.
- Rolling out a revamped reseller partner programme that focuses on the best margins for deal registrations, plus meeting incentives.
What areas would you like to see your channel partners invest in in 2024?
Our partners should invest more in backup security as the last line of defence. Security software, firewalls, etc. are all important, but if someone gets into the network then the backup is the last chance to save the company. This needs to be better understood.
ExaGrid's Retention Time-Lock for Ransomware Recovery feature is a great solution for our partners to offer the best backup security solution.
What are the biggest challenges facing your partners in 2024?
- Offering the best security solutions as there are hundreds of them on the market.
- Continuing margin pressures - working with the big brands usually means reduced margins as everyone sells them and they compete on price to win customers.
- Customer retention - there needs to be value add from the partners, and this can mainly be done by offering services and being the trusted advisor.
- The trend towards outsourcing and running the customers IT for them, whether OPEX or CAPEX model. This is a big source of value-add.
Describe how your use of market development funds (MDF) is changing this year?
ExaGrid is using its MDF to grow its reseller partner programme, which includes SPIFs and meeting maker bonus opportunities, as well as sponsoring channel partner events and trainings. This will continue to increase in 2024 as we add on new partners and work even closer with our existing partners.
What are your biggest channel priorities in 2024?
In 2024, we're looking to add more qualified partners, improve partner technical skills and increase the amount of net new accounts coming through partners.