We’re calling 2018 the year of the channel here at Nitro, so what better time to introduce you to our first Senior Director of Global Channel Sales, Dave “Hoops” Allison. We recently sat down with Dave to get to know more about him, his background, and his vision for the channel. Enjoy!
Can you tell us a little about your background and what attracted you to joining Nitro?
I’ve spent over 25 years in technology channel roles: five years at Apple, 10 years at Symantec, five years at Adobe, two years at Extreme Networks, and time at a couple start-ups. For the past 18 years, I have had channel roles that include marketing, operations, and sales across most segments of the channel – from broadline and value-added distribution, large account resellers, and value-added resellers to aggregators, systems integrations, and sometimes even retail and online.
I came to Nitro because of the company, the people, and the tremendous opportunity we have with our channel business. We are just scratching the surface today and have some great things planned for the channel in 2018. We’re poised for some incredible things this year in a very dynamic and large market.
What will be your first (and second) item(s) of business?
What was evident to me early on is that we have some great things in place already. We have created a compensation-neutral plan to further motivate our sellers to work with the channel. We’re also working to realign our margins with the value our partners bring us, and we just recently launched a SPIF program to help our partners open doors for our sellers.
Part of your job is spending time with Nitro’s customers. What are they saying that motivates you as a Nitro leader?
Whether they are a Fortune 1000, medium enterprise, small business, or government organization, our customers are all very interested in talking about their digital transformation and seeking a knowledgeable vendor to help them navigate their journey. Our brand gets stronger every day and our value proposition easily resonates with the CIO, IT Director, and/or IT Manager.
A medium-sized law firm I spoke with cited several key differentiators that made the decision to go with Nitro very easy. In discussing Nitro’s key competitive advantages, they cited our willingness to listen to their situation, our product fit and roadmap, our flexibility to collaborate on something that worked for them, and our pilot program that allowed them to work on specific workflow scenarios.
What are the three things that every partner needs to know about Nitro?
- Great, responsive selling team who is eager to work with partners and compensated to work with them!
- Ripe, HUGE market opportunity. We have brand momentum and great product fit, and customers want to have conversations with us in all segments and industries.
- Incredible margin potential. We offer great margins for partners who bring us value in an opportunity.
Finally, the question on everyone’s mind: Why do they call you Hoops?
I am a huge basketball fan, both college and pro. I’ve been playing the game for a long time, and I’m fortunate that I can still get on the court today. I’ve been involved in coaching youth basketball for 10+ years as well. I firmly believe that sports are a great learning ground and that the lessons you learn in sports are applicable throughout life and business!
Want to learn more about how you can make money with Nitro’s current channel SPIF? Click here.
