Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, the global leader in business communications and collaboration solutions concluded its first-ever Connex20 APAC Partner Virtual Series, an online event held last 12 to 14 August 2020.
Over 250 tier-one and tier-two partner executives and sales teams representing more than 120 organisations from across the region participated in the event each day to share best practices in driving successful business continuity and enhancing customer engagement in today’s new norm.
During his address, Jack Chen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, spoke about the need for partners to come together to help support customers with their business continuity efforts as they transform their businesses. Though the pandemic has disrupted the way we live, work, play and commute, Chen highlighted that the situation has helped businesses see the value of cloud and collaboration tools and many have built a more productive workforce with remote working arrangements. He added that digital transformation should no longer be an afterthought but a journey all enterprises should embark on immediately or miss out on the opportunities that await as we emerge from the COVID-19 challenges.
Highlights from the virtual series include a customer insights track emphasising how partners can capitalise on these insights to remain relevant. It discussed how the pandemic may have shifted customer priorities as well as focusing on new-look technology investment strategies.
Additionally, participants tuned in to a panel discussion featuring representatives from partner organizations DXC Technology, Exclusive Networks and iValue InfoSolutions. Tony Hughes, founder of Sales IQ, also joined as a special guest. The panel highlighted business challenges and opportunities presented by the current business environment and tough economic times. The participants discussed in depth on the following:
- Equipping employees with new technologies today to co-create solutions with customers
- Go back to one’s business playbook and adjust customer touchpoints where needed, using the playbook as a guide
- Today’s new business acumen equation requires businesses to have IQ (intelligence quotient) + EQ (emotional intelligence) + TQ (tech quotient)
Pierre Samson, APAC senior vice president for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise said: “The Connex20 virtual series offers us an invaluable opportunity to engage with our partners directly to understand what challenges they may be facing and explore ways to ‘Move Forward, Revitalize, and Thrive’ together. Having a platform like this where all our partners can come together and learn from each other is critical especially during this time when face-to-face interaction is limited. We also packed the event with insights and learnings so that participants can truly benefit from the time spend. More importantly, we want the partners to see that the pandemic, despite being a business disruptor, is also an accelerator for digital transformation and technology adoption.”
Rukmini Glanard, executive vice president, global sales and marketing at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise also spoke to the participants reinforcing ALE’s focus on bringing more relevant cloud and communications solutions to customers. She highlighted the recent strategic partnership between ALE and RingCentral, Inc., a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, collaboration and contact center solutions, and how the companies have jointly introduced the co-branded cloud solution Rainbow Office powered by RingCentral. She added that ALE and RingCentral will jointly develop programs enabling both companies to lead the cloud communications services for customers and partners in the enterprise market.