Partnership Perspectives Podcast

As VMware’s SVP of Worldwide Cloud Sales, Paula Hodgins leads the team responsible for cloud solutions that enable customers to run and manage their environments, whether on-premise, at the edge, or in a hyperscale cloud. According to Paula, it’s the most exciting place to be at VMware. On this episode, host Anna Lawler chats with Paula about her impressive background, which includes 13+ years at Microsoft, where she moved some of the country’s largest companies to public cloud for the first time, followed by her role as President of HPE Canada. Since joining VMware in 2021, Paula’s team has been focusing on driving value realization for customers – helping them go from cloud-curious to true cloud believers. You’ll learn how VMware helps customers apply solutions across a common infrastructure, helping to simplify the complexity and lower the cost of their cloud investments. Get ready for a master class on multi-cloud transformation.

About the Guest:

Paula Hodgins is SVP, Worldwide Cloud Sales at VMware. You can find Paula on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-hodgins-canada/.

About the Host:
Anna Lawler is VP, Global Partner & Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Anna on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawleranna/.
 

To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html

Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

For a decade, VMware and NVIDIA have been committed to bringing AI to every enterprise. Why? Because it’s transforming every industry possible and enabling businesses to make better investments and create better customer experiences. In today’s challenging times, AI is critical to enterprise success. On this episode, VMware’s Abhay Kumar sits down with Pat Lee, Head of Strategic Partnerships at NVIDIA, for an in-depth discussion about the real-life impact of this powerhouse partnership. From helping advance healthcare research, to navigating supply chain issues, to designing the future of automobiles, you’ll hear how these two companies are helping their customers leverage the value of AI to create new opportunities for growth and success. Not only that, but they’re helping improve the employee experience, too. Enjoy this timely talk with a tech leader that knows a thing or two about accelerated computing and retaining top talent.

About the Guest: Pat Lee is Head of Strategic Enterprise Partnerships at NVIDIA. You can find Pat on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpatricklee/. About the  Guest Host: Abhay Kumar is Vice President of Tech/ISV Partners and Ecosystem Strategy at VMware. You can find Abhay on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhay-kumar-wg04/.

  To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

What does it mean to be a purpose-driven business? For Wipro, it’s about being a great partner to their customers and the communities where they serve and live. With over 250,000 employees in 66 countries, Wipro directs 67% of their profits to the Azim Premji Foundation, a nonprofit founded to help build a more equitable society. On this episode, Wipro Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Trautman chats with VMware’s Zia Yusuf about the increasing importance of partnerships, latest industry trends, and an exciting joint announcement. Wipro has created a VMware business unit to make investments, aligning their expertise with VMware technology to create the most impact for clients. Together, the companies are building a “spider web” of solutions to benefit the entire partner ecosystem. As Stephanie puts it, clients don’t want to buy technology—they want to buy solutions. Enjoy this insightful discussion with an industry leader and change agent.

About the Guest: Stephanie Trautman is Chief Growth Officer at WIPRO. You can find Stephanie on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-trautman/.

About the Host: Zia Yusuf is Senior Vice President of Strategic Ecosystem and Industry Solutions at VMware. You can find Zia on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziayusuf/, or on Twitter at @ZiaYusuf.

  To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

On the heels of VMware Explore 2022 US–VMware’s recent conference centered on the future of multi-cloud–IBM Ecosystem’s General Manager Kate Woolley sat down to chat with host Zia Yusuf, VMware SVP of Strategic Ecosystem and Industry Solutions, about key highlights from the show and the biggest trends she’s hearing from partners and clients. Kate brings a fresh perspective to VMware and IBM's longstanding partnership and shares how their recent joint announcement, which includes an expansion to the IBM and VMware Innovation Lab, will streamline hybrid cloud adoption. IBM Consulting is now a certified GSI VMware partner, adding a layer of expertise to their jointly-developed cloud technologies. From solving security to increasing automation to collecting data–learn how IBM and VMware are innovating and helping other partners in the ecosystem smooth client transitions to hybrid cloud.

About the Guest: Kate Woolley is General Manager of IBM Ecosystem. You can find Kate on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katepwoolley/.   About the Host: Zia Yusuf is Senior Vice President of Strategic Ecosystem and Industry Solutions at VMware. You can find Zia on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziayusuf/, or on Twitter at @ZiaYusuf.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

Listen to Luke’s candid thoughts on remote work culture, and why leaders need partnerships as a way of combining expertise to deliver exceptional value to customers. Or as he puts it: “We’re going to deliberately be brilliant at a few things, and we’re going to look to partner with other people that are brilliant in the other things.” Take a listen, and find out why Macquarie was named one of the “best places to work” in Australia.

About the Guest: Luke Clifton is Group Executive at Macquarie Telecom Group. You can find Luke on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeclifton/.

About the Host: Zia Yusuf is Senior Vice President of Strategic Ecosystem and Industry Solutions at VMware. You can find Zia on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziayusuf/, or on Twitter at @ZiaYusuf.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html.

Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

What do cars and pizzas have in common? You may not think they’re connected—but wait until you hear this conversation between Macquarie Telecom Group’s Luke Clifton and VMware SVP of Strategic Ecosystem and Industry Solutions, Zia Yusuf. Their discussion ranges from passion to partnerships, as well as cloud sovereignty, customers’ challenges in closing the skill set gap, and the impact of hybrid work on digital transformation.

About the Guest: Luke Clifton is Group Executive at Macquarie Telecom Group. You can find Luke on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeclifton/.

About the Host: Zia Yusuf is Senior Vice President of Strategic Ecosystem and Industry Solutions at VMware. You can find Zia on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziayusuf/, or on Twitter at @ZiaYusuf.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review the VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

Aimee Catalano, Google Cloud’s Senior Director of Global Partner Marketing, joins us to discuss how closing the talent gap is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cloud transformation. We dive deep into the biggest questions customers and partners have around cloud: Using data, optimizing infrastructure, empowering hybrid workforces, security, and sustainability—it’s all there. Google Cloud received the 2022 Worldwide VMware Cloud Innovation and Transformation Award for combining next-gen technologies with VMware Cross-Cloud Services to accelerate customer digital transformation. The magic of migrating VMware workloads to Google Cloud will also be covered at the upcoming VMware Explore. According to Aimee, it’s the best conference in the industry! Enjoy this exciting chat with a Global Marketing Leader.

About the Guest: Aimee Catalano is Senior Director of Global Partner Marketing at Google Cloud. You can find Aimee on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimeecatalano/, or on Twitter at @aimeecatalano.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.  

How do you create a global program when sovereignty means different things in different places? On this episode of the Partnership Perspectives podcast, host Kathleen Tandy sits down with Phil Dawson, CEO, and co-founder of AUCloud. They discuss data sovereignty in government and how AUCloud and VMware are partnering to deliver security services that support the Australian government’s best practices for protected data standards and controls. Recently, the Australian government formally recognized 11 sectors as critical infrastructure, essentially creating a regulatory framework for roughly 60 to 75% of the economy. As businesses start to understand the importance of data sovereignty, there are many new opportunities for growth. It’s no wonder Phil is excited for the future of the sovereign cloud. Enjoy this latest episode with one of our leading partners in APJ.

About the Guest: Phil Dawson is CEO and co-founder at AUCloud. You can find Phil on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmdawson/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.

VMware and Intel have shared many commonalities over the years, including CEO Pat Gelsinger, who returned “home” to Intel in 2021 after 8 years of leading VMware. The partnership between the two companies is now stronger and more focused than ever, providing next-gen datacenter to cloud capabilities with the broadest portfolio of trusted solutions in the industry. In this episode, host Kathleen Tandy chats with Muge Tanik, General Manager of Global Accounts at Intel to discuss the history of VMware and Intel’s partnership and how their roadmaps are aligned to bring the most consistent, secure, and optimized edge to cloud and multi-cloud solutions to customers across the globe. From VMware Workspace One on Intel vPro, to the Virtual Cloud Network built on Intel architecture, learn how VMware and Intel are setting the bar for enterprise-level IT. Listen all the way to the end for a teaser on the next innovative solutions this partnership is about to unveil!

About the Guest: Muge Tanik is General Manager of Global Accounts at Intel. You can find her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mugetanik/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.  

To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

In this episode, we are talking about the intersection of business and technology with Jeffrey Kusters, CTO at ITQ. With a fierce dedication to investing in its employees and maintaining a customer-obsessed culture, ITQ’s goal is simple - to become the #1 VMware knowledge partner in EMEA. Host Kathleen Tandy chats with Jeffrey about the state of IT as businesses navigate the need to modernize while facing the challenge of increasingly complex tech stacks and transforming their team’s processes and mindsets. With this in mind, ITQ launched  IT Transformation Services to help ensure customers’ success. Learn from the experience of a truly gifted master of technology who has spent 10 years transforming ITQ from a small IT firm to the full-service partner they are today.

About the Guest: Jeffrey Kusters is CTO at ITQ. You can find Jeffrey on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreykusters/, or on Twitter at @jeffreykusters.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review the VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

For over 20 years, VMware and HPE have forged an alliance built on innovation and leadership, resulting in the industry’s most complete portfolio of integrated virtualization cloud and mobility solutions and services.  On this episode, HPE's Joseph George joins Kathleen to discuss how their partnership with VMware continues to evolve in order to meet the demands of today’s cloud smart customers.

According to Joseph, data is our new currency,  and modernizing how you collect, curate, and protect it is key to success in this increasingly competitive industry. Hear how VMware and HPE's joint solutions and as-a-service consumption model deliver customers outcome together. Enjoy this exciting and informative conversation with a true IT trailblazer.

About the Guest: Joseph George is Vice President of Compute, Industry & Strategic Alliance Marketing at HPE. You can find Joseph on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephgeorge/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html.

Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

According to Subroto Mukerji, every business today, regardless of industry, is fundamentally a technology business. This growing complexity increases the skills gap—and it also reinforces the importance of leveraging partnerships to meet the needs of today’s market. In this episode, Kathleen and Subroto discuss the biggest challenge mid-market customers currently face—retaining the talent needed to run a successful technology-fueled business as employee expectations continue to dictate success. VMware and Rackspace Technology’s latest joint offering, Rackspace Elastic Engineering, enables businesses to scale IT teams, transform multi-cloud environments, and streamline operating models by bringing shared expertise to specific organizational challenges. Enjoy a great conversation with a veteran technology leader.

About the Guest: Subroto Mukerji is President of Americas at Rackspace Technology.  You can find Subroto on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/subroto-mukerji-700baa3/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.  

To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html.

Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

Aletha Noonan’s path at CDW began when she joined the sales team in 1994. Now the SVP of Product and Partner Management, Aletha has helped CDW become the leading multi-brand provider of IT solutions to business, government, education, and healthcare customers in the US, UK, and Canada. In 2021, CDW received the VMware Industry Partner Award winner for its outstanding work with healthcare organizations. On this episode, host Kathleen Tandy chats with Aletha about a wide array of topics, from the value of customer-centric partnerships and the generational nuances that shape them to the war for talent and what initiatives CDW has taken to attract and retain expertise in this constantly evolving ecosystem. Aletha’s passion, positive outlook, and inclusive attitude shine as she shares insights from her career. Enjoy this inspiring conversation.

About the Guest:

Aletha Noonan is Senior Vice President of Product and Partner Management at CDW. You can find Aletha on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aletha-c-noonan-56a7bb8/ or on Twitter at @alethaCDW.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review the VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

Francis Choo is Vice President of Global Partner Engagement and Cyber Security at Ingram Micro in Asia Pacific, the world’s largest technology wholesaler and a 15-year VMware partner. He leads their advanced solutions organization in the Asia Pacific region and believes that bridging the gap between the people who make technology and the people who sell and use it is key to helping businesses adopt, adapt, and survive. In this episode, Kathleen and Francis discuss how Ingram Micro’s Technology Experience Center, a multi-vendor demo and proof of concept facility in Singapore, is bringing “show and tell” to cybersecurity solutions—empowering architects to co-create total ecosystems for virtual demo and discussion, educating enterprises across the globe. Enjoy this insightful conversation.

About the Guest:

Francis Choo is VP of Global Partner Engagement & Cyber Security at Ingram Micro APJ. You can find Francis on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-choo-325a695/.

About the Host:

Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html.

Subscribe, follow, and review the VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

Jonathan Harrison is the Managing Director of North America Infrastructure Engineering Lead, within Accenture’s Cloud-First where he is responsible for helping organizations navigate the Cloud Continuum—from public to private to the edge. In September of 2020 Accenture made a historic investment in cloud-first initiatives and since then have brought together 70,000 IT professionals to help businesses move to the cloud faster. In this episode, Kathleen and Jonathan discuss how VMware and Accenture’s expanded partnership—the VMware Accenture Business Group—is helping organizations accelerate cloud migration and ultimately realize greater value. Saving cost is often the catalyst to change, but businesses are leveraging the alliance between VMware and Accenture to achieve far more. Enjoy this encouraging and articulate conversation with a fantastic guest.

About the Guest:

Jonathan Harrison is Managing Director of North America Infrastructure Engineering Lead within Accenture Cloud First. You can find Jonathan on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-harrison-550ab72/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

According to Chris Wolf, Chief Research and Innovation Officer at VMware, it’s all about incubating and building important new technologies that become products. That’s why VMware is aligning with partners, customers, and R&D business units to innovate not just for the sake of innovation, but to help companies prepare for an uncertain future. In this episode, Kathleen and Chris discuss the importance of co-innovation with partners at the early stages of research and development, and how collaborating with Business Units on a per-project basis is an “intentionally inefficient” way of innovating—and also the right way. Chris has a special ability to communicate complex technology trends in ways that make them more accessible and promote deeper understanding. Hear his expert insights in this fascinating conversation.

About the Guest: Chris Wolf is Chief Research and Innovation Officer at VMware. You can find Chris on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cswolf/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html.

Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

As CEO and co-founder of Xtravirt, Gavin Jolliffe leads a talented team focused on empowering enterprises to step into the unknown and thrive in an ever-changing digital world. Xtravirt’s dedication to developing technical expertise and supporting customers across their entire lifecycle has helped it become one of VMware’s most accredited managed services partners globally. In this episode, Kathleen and Gavin discuss how creating value-driven relationships helps customers achieve change amid uncertainty. They also share insights from a recent study conducted by Forrester which found 97% of IT decision-makers have struggled with adopting cloud models, while 74% plan on moving to the cloud soon and discuss how managed service providers like Xtravirt can help in this transition. As companies’ desire to modernize continues to grow, leading firms like Xtravirt will continue solving the complexities of transformation with experience, integrity, and agility. Enjoy this conversation with one of our Principal Partners.

About the Guest: Gavin Jolliffe is CEO and Co-founder of Xtravirt. You can find Gavin on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinjolliffe/ or on Twitter at @gavinjolliffe

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

According to Sachin Bhatia, CMO of Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group in Asia Pacific, the last several months of pandemic-sparked disruption delivered an unexpected upside. Prompted by rapid changes to get creative and move away from traditional tactics, they’ve essentially earned an “MBA 2.0”. In this energetic conversation, Sachin and Kathleen discuss how marketing can be the headlights of a business, the importance of a customer-focused agenda, and how Lenovo is uniquely positioned to manage global supply chain processes. When you hear Sachin talk about Lenovo’s “Everything as a Service” approach and how they are bringing a software mindset to silicon, it will be clear why Lenovo won the VMware Partner Innovation Award for Global Alliances in 2021.

About the Guest: Sachin Bhatia is the Chief Marketing Officer for Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group, Asia Pacific. You can find him on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinbhatia2018/ or on Twitter at @sachinCMO

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

Kishore Modak, General Manager of Marketing for APJ at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), believes in a simple principle when it comes to building successful partnerships: Evaluate what you are getting against what you are giving up. In this episode, Kathleen and Kishore discuss the benefits of a partner-led integrated marketing strategy, how HPE GreenLake’s consumption-based pricing model differentiates it from competing for edge-to-cloud platforms, and more. According to Kishore, harnessing the power of the tremendous amount of data we now have available is a vital part of creating new and innovative ways to connect with customers. Don’t miss this delightfully candid conversation with a brilliant marketing leader.

About the Guest: Kishore Modak is General Manager of Marketing-APJ at HPE. You can find him on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kishore-modak-a183012/.

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html. Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.

As SVP of Global Partner Marketing at Dell Technologies, Cheryl Cook has been responsible for driving the company’s long-term partner marketing strategy for more than a decade.  A champion of a more inclusive IT ecosystem, Cheryl wants companies to realize the full potential of a truly empowered work environment. In this episode, Kathleen and Cheryl discuss Dell and VMware’s longstanding partnership, joint innovations, and future growth opportunities. They talk about shifting trends in the IT industry, the evolution of partner collaboration, and the importance of prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion to maximize businesses’ impact. Dell and VMware have been laying the foundation for the future of IT for years, and we are beyond excited to see what comes next. Enjoy this inspiring and informative chat.

About the Guest: Cheryl Cook is SVP of Global Partner Marketing at Dell. You can find Cheryl on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylscook/, or on Twitter at @CookCherylS. To support and learn more about the Brit Rose Foundation, please visit: https://shopbritrose.com/  

About the Host: Kathleen Tandy is Vice President of Global Partner and Alliances Marketing at VMware. You can find Kathleen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktandy85/, or on Twitter at @kaktandy.   To learn more about VMware's partner programs, please visit: https://www.vmware.com/partners/partner-executive-edge.html.

Subscribe, follow, and review VMware Partnership Perspectives podcast.