Alan Butler - Building Channel Buy-In from the Inside Out | Partnerships Unraveled

In this episode of Partnerships Unraveled, we sit down with one of the channel’s most seasoned transformation leaders to explore what “good” really looks like in channel strategy. With a career that’s spanned Sun Microsystems, Dell, Adobe, and now OpenText, our guest shares a rare perspective on what it takes to build, scale, and integrate partner ecosystems that last.

We dive into the foundational elements of partner success - from startup grit to enterprise orchestration, including:

How Dell flipped its revenue model from direct to 50% indirect in just five years
Why internal alignment and executive education are non-negotiables in channel growth
How to handle M&A without losing the DNA of the acquired partner ecosystem
The make-or-break role of finance in proving partner value from day one
Why most partner advisory councils fail and how to build one that truly drives change
How to balance short-term targets with long-term investment in emerging partners

Whether you're building a channel from scratch or trying to realign a legacy motion, this episode delivers field-tested insights from someone who's been at the helm through it all.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:05 Direct vs. Indirect Sales
00:10 Building a Successful Channel Ecosystem
00:15 Integration Challenges
00:18 Channel Strategies for Different Scales
00:20 Conclusion

Connect with Alan:   / ab530  
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Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast...
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5LBehmU...

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