Issue 11 2020 7 Technology Innovator Secures International Success In the whirling maelstrom that is the technology industry, how do businesses ensure that their roadmaps and strategies are generating the best possible growth and revenues? Founder of Global Touch Inc., Denise Sangster, knows how to push business to the next level. Named Most Influential Business Leader in Technology Consulting 2020 – USA in Corporate Vision’s Corporate Excellence Awards, we dig a little deeper to understand how she and her team have achieved such success. The world is constantly changing, with new opportunities presenting themselves every day. It’s easy to be left behind if you lose focus for a moment. For many businesses, the team at Global Touch are a key part of their success. Under the stalwart leadership of Denise Sangster, the firm has become the consultancy of choice for many in the marketplace. Denise’s ambitions didn’t begin with Global Touch. The business was the culmination of years of work in the industry. After graduating from UC Berkeley with studies in math, computer science and business, she spent a year working for a large American law firm, until she discovered a passion for being out in the field creating and building business opportunities. Her next stop was in a Silicon Valley database start-up where she headed up the international business. Despite not knowing about the business or technology they were bringing to market initially, she rapidly became an expert in international business, bringing English and localized products to market through partner ecosystems, and developing sustainable partnerships. The business proved to be such a success that it was acquired by Microsoft, a decision which encouraged Denise to go solo and forge her own path. Almost instantly, Denise was able to find consulting assignments, working with international clients she had previously worked with at the start-up. The business grew, and Denise’s reputation broadened in the industry. She was soon invited to organize the first IT pan-European event for the IT industry that focused on a go-to-market through and with partners. This really put Denise on the map as far as the industry was concerned. This parallel development between the IT industry and her business development gives her a unique perspective on what must be done to ensure success. Partners are an essential ingredient to any IT company’s success. With more than 70% of all business to business revenues in the IT industry generated through IT partners and ecosystem partnerships today, the stakes are high as IT companies spend billions each year to drive revenue and growth through these partnerships. At the heart of Global Touch’s current work is to help clients think what’s possible with partners, building on new ideas and disruptive innovation so that they can achieve planned, but also opportunistic success. This means that when a client works with Global Touch, they leverage a team who empowers them to thrive through partners ecosystems. While Denise has a passion for making data driven decisions, she believes going beyond what the data is telling her clients’ today in order to help them make decisions that will impact their tomorrow. Or said another way, Global Touch knows how to grow predictable revenue by unleashing the potential of partners to drive predictable success for IT companies. While many technology companies are continuing to utilize methods, investments and subsidies that were first created more than 15 years ago, this often results in their (selling, consulting, and services) partners suffering from profit underperformance, which translates into an IT companies’ underperformance of their growth and revenue potential. Denise takes a fresh and pioneering approach to gather the right data to make the most effective decisions through a combination of partner and customer interviews, surveys and research providing clients with a competitive advantage. Even during the current pandemic crisis, Denise has seen the COVID-19 crisis not as a point of concern, but an opportunity for greater things in two areas. The first is in the sales pipeline. This pandemic changed the way businesses have marketed and sold products in favour of new innovations in the sales pipeline. For Denise’s clients, every touchpoint between technology companies, partners and customers matters more than ever before and ensuring these relationships remain strong, while achieving the right value return is key to surviving the current crisis and thriving as its ends. The second is in measuring the partner strategy, programs and investments to drive partner success. Global Touch launched its first of a kind Partner Profitability Calculator TM in 2020 to measure IT companies partner strategies, programs and investments. Built from Global Touch’s proprietary intellectual property, most IT companies who have used Global Touch’s calculator are now realising that not all of their partnerships are operating as well as they should, despite the hundreds of millions to billions they have invested to drive partner sales. Thanks to Denise and the talented team at Global Touch, more IT companies are coming to realise the true potential of their partnerships. How will this all work out during a pandemic? Denise believes partners will remain essential to IT companies’ success. All of the work that Denise has achieved has been made possible through the incredible Global Touch team. The staff is made of smart, inquisitive, professionals willing to strive for a changing level of excellence. While dogs are welcomed into the office, employees set their own hours and the dress is very casual, the team puts in an extraordinary amount of work. For many IT market leaders, the Global Touch team plays an essential role in delivering high quality, innovative outcomes that keep their clients ahead of competitive threats, while driving next generation success through their partners. Contact: Denise Sangster Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.globaltouch.com The digital and data investments that many businesses have been considering and putting into action have taken a backseat to the practical cost savings that must be achieved. This means that the investments that are already on hand must be used to the fullest before further consideration is given to more spending. @GlobalTouch @DeniseSangster Global Touch Denise Sangster Corporate Excell nce Awards 7