NetApp Partner Summit & Awards 2023
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Kristian Kerr
I recently had the pleasure of hosting the NetApp EMEA and LATAM Partner Awards 2023 with Giovanna Sangiorgi, SVP and general manager of EMEA and LATAM, and Jenni Flinders, SVP of the Worldwide Partner Organization. It was very exciting to welcome 130 partners, some from as far away as Brazil and South Africa, to our first in-person Partner Summit in 3 years. Nothing beats in-person engagement! I enjoyed every single conversation with our partners during the event.
At NetApp, our key vision is to accelerate growth and customer success with a vibrant and committed partner ecosystem as we jointly develop customer solutions for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud environments. The summit was a perfect opportunity to share what’s new in NetApp’s evolving strategy, as well as the opportunities in front of us, and to prepare to go live with the new partner program, NetApp Partner Sphere.
A future full of possibilities
Partners are the heart of NetApp’s success. Coming together in Prague was a great way to build and to shape our go-to-market strategy for FY’24. The event included a mix of keynote presentations and partner roundtable discussions that generated a lot of energy and lively debates. We shared insights, exchanged ideas, and challenged ourselves to deliver the best for our customers as they transform their business.
It was inspiring to hear from our executives about what’s new with the NetApp strategy, including major opportunities, focused solutions, and key messaging. I know that we have everything to set us up for success in FY’24—the opportunities are endless. It was also very interesting to hear our partners’ voices during the Cloud Panel that Nikolaz Foucaud hosted. Arrow, Atos, Secured Network Services (SNS), and tecRacer joined the keynote session to share their experiences with NetApp® cloud solutions and how they’re helping customers transition to hybrid multicloud.
Taking responsibility
At NetApp, we’re committed to being at the forefront of the technologies that we develop and to the responsibility and accountability that are inherent in how we operate day to day. With presentations centered around themes of simplicity, security, sustainability, and saving, this gathering reflected our move toward making events more sustainable, with no print, no plastic, and limited graphics. We even used participant badges that can be repurposed to grow a plant!
Inspired and energized
Reflecting on the summit, now that I’m back in London, I’m feeling invigorated by our NetApp executive team and partners. It was great to hear Giovanna Sangiorgi share her vision for FY’24 and to hear Jenni Flinders expand on the new partner strategy and vision. It was energizing to listen to Matt Watts speak about our big opportunity and to hear Sandeep Singh share how we’re better positioned than ever to lead in flash. They outlined how we can partner effectively to lead market transitions and to better serve our customers. Together we can unlock the best of both worlds—on premises and in the cloud.
Celebrating success
If you’ve been to Prague, you’ve likely marveled at the grandeur of the city’s architecture, and we were delighted to host the 17th Partner Awards gala dinner at the beautiful Žofín Palace. Congratulations again to all the Partner Award winners!
- EMEA Partner of the Year: Proact
- LATAM Partner of the Year: Columbia, Brazil
- GSI Partner of the Year: Atos
- Cloud Partner of the Year: tecRacer, DACH
- Growth Partner of the Year: Logicalis, Germany
- FlexPod Partner of the Year: Advanced UniByte GmbH, Germany
- Hybrid Cloud Partner of the Year: Fujitsu
- Commercial Partner of the Year: Mannai Corporation, QATAR
- Enterprise Partner of the Year: SCC, France
- AI Partner of the Year: Computacenter, Germany
- Keystone Partner of the Year: SVA, Germany
- Innovation Partner of the Year: Accenture
- Solutions Partner of the Year: Computacenter
- EMEA Distributor of the Year: Arrow ECS
- Regional Distributor of the Year: ALEF
- Service Partner of the Year: TD Synnex
- Rising Star of the Year: Cyllene, France
- Marketing Partner of the Year: CDW, UK
We were also pleased to highlight eight partners with notable mentions for special achievements:
- Innovation and Performance: RealCloud, NTT, Kyndryl, and Westcon-Comstor
- Marketing Champions: Mannai Corporation, INNEO Solutions, Ingram Micro, and Arrow
I’m sure that this event will generate many productive follow-up conversations and get everyone even more energized. We have many opportunities ahead of us to accelerate cloud adoption and to grow flash with our expanding portfolio and solution set. Here’s to many more years of innovation and partnership—the best is yet to come!
Learn more
Learn more about how NetApp is working with partners to accomplish great things for our customers: https://www.netapp.com/partners/.
Kristian Kerr
Kristian Kerr is the Vice President of EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa) Partners at NetApp. Kristian brings 20 years of experience, driving revenue growth with creative new business models and building strong relationships with external business partners. He previously held various leadership roles at Brocade Communication, Verizon Enterprise Solutions and Cisco Systems Ltd., as well as Juniper Networks, where he was responsible for successfully re-engineering the EMEA partner sales strategy to drive double-digit growth. He lives in Berkshire, United Kingdom.
