Pure Storage to Tackle a $50B Hybrid Cloud and AI Market

Arabian Reseller speaks to Matthieu Brignone, the Area Vice President for EMEA Partners at Pure Storage, about the company’s channel partner program, its initiatives in the region and the key milestones for the rest of the year
What sort of market presence does Pure Storage enjoy in this region?
We have been present in the region since 2015, when we opened our Middle East headquarters in Dubai, UAE. With a 100 percent channel-driven go-to-market strategy, our in-house sales and technical resources work very closely with our regional partners to serve enterprises across the Middle East, with a specific focus on the UAE and KSA.
How many channel partners do you work within this region?
We have a robust set of quality partners in the region. Specifically speaking about distributors, we have three – VAD Technologies, StarLink and Exclusive Networks.
Do you plan to add more partners to the portfolio?
Our goal is not to dramatically grow the number of partners we work with, Pure has always opted to work with a select group of dedicated partners. We want to focus on strengthening our relationships with existing partners, but also attract those who recognise the value of closer alignment and share our commitment to hyper-growth and market share gains.
What key commitments does Pure Storage promise through the new distributor program?
Simply put, opportunity. We have a $50B market ahead of us in our key markets of hybrid cloud, data protection, scale-out architecture, and AI. In order to capitalise on this, we must scale and extend our reach by enhancing our distribution network.
This gives distributors an opportunity to become a first-mover in modern analytics and AI, and to become a trusted strategic resource for their customers not only in traditional IT, but outside IT in analytics-driven lines of business. This all presents a larger market opportunity for all of our partners as they help us address these sectors.
In terms of the programme itself, it reiterates our commitment to a partner-centric go-to-market, adding a strategic layer of support and enablement for distributors. The programme has been created in partnership with existing distributors, a process that started at the Pure Global Partner Forum held in May 2018. As such it includes all the critical elements necessary for distributors to build autonomous ‘Pure Certified’ practices. This includes training, ongoing programme investments, marketing support, and additional tools.
Do you have a centralised portal for partners to access marketing collaterals, engage in discussions and dialogues, lead-gen and so on?
We’re focused on supporting and empowering our partners, and we’re committed to ensuring they have the assets, resources, and incentives to prosper with Pure Storage. For example, we’re adding new headcount specifically aligned to the distribution process, and we’ll be working very closely with distributors to understand their needs and challenges.
In fact, we recently held our first annual EMEA Distributor Summit in Madrid where we opened that dialogue and will continue to exchange ideas with distributors as the programme grows. Feedback from partners has always been that they appreciate Pure’s transparency and communication, something we don’t intend on changing.
What sort of milestones does Pure Storage have in mind for the rest of the year?
By driving excellence through a customer-first business model, world-class customer experience, industry-leading innovation, and differentiated technology, Pure aims to address the $50bn TAM ahead of it. As data volumes increase exponentially, Pure seeks to help innovators build a better world with this data.
For the remainder of 2019, Pure will work closely with its regional partner network to expand its customer base by targeting enterprises where data is central to business growth. This includes the top cloud and SaaS providers, enterprises in the Global 2000, and businesses with next generation use-cases such as AI and machine learning.