Software & Technology Awards 2020

26 | Software & Tech Awards 2020 Oct20186 Best Strategic Technology Consulting Group 2020 Strategic consulting group, Global Touch, is committed to helping technology clients build predictable and sustainable revenue and growth through partners. Company founder, Denise Sangster, tells us more about the firm and how it adds value at every step of the client journey. ave you ever wondered how technology companies in the business-to-business market are able to scale and accelerate their success around the world? The easy answer is it is through partners, who can generate well over 70% of revenues. The harder question is how do you create the right strategy, find the right partners and then build impactful partner programs? Our 2020 winner of the Best Strategic Technology Consulting Group knows—Global Touch, Inc. Global Touch is a partner-focused strategy and go-to market transformation consulting firm for the hybrid and digital computing world. Since 1990, it has created game changer opportunities for its clients who are investing in the moment to leverage the future. Its data-led management consulting services help technology companies create sustainable partner success. “Our sweet spot is helping technology companies grow predictable revenue by unleashing the power of partners,” explains Denise Sangster, the company’s Founder, President and CEO. “At Global Touch, we look over the horizon to lead our customers through conventional and creative partnerships, while navigating unparalleled market dynamics and changes.” Denise graduated from UC Berkeley planning to follow in her father’s footsteps as a lawyer, but a change of heart saw her instead wanting to be out in the field creating and building business opportunities and problem-solving with clients. A foot-in-the-door with a Silicon database start-up company saw Denise embark on a massive learning curve about the technology, international business, localization of product and documentation, marketing and sales activities, and developing partner ecosystems. This, in turn, led to her offering consultancy services for international companies and, finally, to setting up Global Touch. Denise tells us that many technology companies today continue to use strategies, programs and investments that worked fifteen years ago, however these obsolete partner models are now simply limiting the potential for success and opening the door to emerging and established competitors. “Increasingly, our world is a digital one,” says Denise. “Re-imagining how to adapt and embracing what’s next is the key to thriving.” It’s simple – if companies do not change with the times, they will be left behind. Denise sees three main reasons for change. These are: • Customer Priorities: customers are buying technology that will help them achieve their business priorities. This changes how products are marketed and sold and business partners are trained. • The World changes: politics, business, and so forth have a profound impact on each other. With the recent change in the US leadership, technology priorities and purchases are being adjusted accordingly. H • Technology and Business Model Disruptors: with disruptive technology innovation accelerating, understanding how to leverage it for success is critical. And not understanding what this new innovation can do can cause to not see change creeping into customers’ businesses that can displace well established business models. Whether working on behalf of established companies with successful track records or pioneering newcomers with raw or out-of-the box ideas, “our mission is to help its clients rethink what’s possible, build next generation capabilities and innovation, and transform small ideas into big market opportunities for and through partners.” The firm also works to increase shareholder value, accelerate market penetration, anticipate and capitalize on market inflections, and build competitive barriers. “We get inside the head of customers and partners with in-field research to help shorten sales cycles, create the right omnichannel strategy to scale effectively, and support partners as they serve your mutual customers.” From vendor ecosystemmatchmaking to partner profitability, Global Touch has built a world-class reputation in delivering actionable insights that help shape future direction for sustainable revenue growth through partners. Its focus is global in order to maximize client resources and fortify competitive barriers with first-hand experience in more than 100 countries. “We know partners,” she states. “We are constantly interviewing them, surveying them, and researching their work from their customers’ perspective. This provides our clients with insights and data that provide them with a competitive advantage.” To this end, in 2020, Global Touch developed the first IT industry’s Partner Profitability Calculator™ to help technology companies or companies relying on ecosystem partnership revenues to understand if their partner ecosystem investments are a “fuse to profits or a bust.” The calculator was built from years of in-the-field data across thousands of global partners and can provide IT companies with a snapshot of their partner programs and investment profitability impact in less than five minutes. It also helps a tech company determine how their partner ecosystem investments and priorities stacks up with their response’s categories in one of five rating groups: innovator (top rating) to laggard (lowest rating). “The majority of technology companies that have used our calculator have found their ratings toward the lower end of the rating scale, meaning they need to quickly re-evaluate their partner ecosystem approach, because any company working with partners or partner ecosystems knows partner profitability is the foundation of every partner and channel investment. Or said another way, partner profitability is the profitability of IT companies. Contact: Denise Sangster Company: Global Touch, Inc. Web Address: www.globaltouch.com