ChannelVision 2018 Partner Directory

C3 Focuses on Expanding Sales, Cybersecurity and Partner Enhancements By Tara Seals PROFILE Cloud Computing Concepts (C3) has been rapidly expanding both its partner ecosystem and its portfolio, focusing in on next-generation technologies and holistic solutions for its business custom- ers. As 2017 draws to a close, we sat down with Rick Mancinelli, founder and CEO, to discuss C3’s channel strategy and portfolio priorities going forward. ChannelVision: Tell me a bit about C3’s latest portfolio initiatives that would be of interest to the channel community. Rick Mancinelli: C3 has recently added a full suite of integrated secu- rity solutions, which include endpoint protection, edge security, anti-phishing training and evaluation, and data loss prevention. These solutions are avail- able in both hardware and virtual ver- sions, with or without management, and can all be procured on a monthly basis. C3 also will soon release its wireless connectivity solutions in partnership with AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless, thus enabling tech- nologies such as wireless WAN failover and connectivity for the rapidly growing internet of things (IoT) market. CV: What do you think are the great- est market opportunities for channel partners in the market today? What about the greatest challenges? RM: We continue to believe the greatest opportunity is in providing clients with a single source for all of their telecom, technology, support and security needs. Channel partners are rewarded with stickier long-term rela- tionships and significantly increased revenue per client. Their clients benefit by way of consolidated billing, cost re- duction via bundling, and shorter time to repair when problems arise. This strategy does, however, require a com- mitment to ongoing training and, most importantly, a vendor partner that can deliver on their behalf. CV: How has your partner ecosystem changed in the past year or so, and what do you expect going into 2018? RM: Our partner ecosystem has been evolving at a rapid pace, with our most successful partners now engag- ing with their clients on even the most complex business challenges. This is important, of course, because technol- ogies are advancing, and client needs are becoming much more sophisti- cated. Conversations focused solely around cost-savings rarely go very far. As we head into 2018, we see a con- tinued separation between traditional and the so-called next-generation partners that take a true interest in the business outcomes of their clients. CV: What investments is C3 making in the channel community of late in terms of support, customer service, tools, program enhancements, etc.? RM: One initiative that C3 is excited about is the parallel development of our new client and partner portals. Both will be available via mobile app or web interface and will include features which allow for collaboration between partners, clients and C3. We also con- tinue to invest in our pre-sales team and training initiatives and will be an- nouncing our first market development funds (MDF) program in early 2018. CV: How has your channel ecosystem evolved in the last few months, and what’s driving that evolution? RM: We are seeing some addi- tional interest on the wholesale side from larger partners that want to inte- grate technologies such as VDI, mo- bile device management and security into their practices, but simply do not have the depth of expertise to do so. In situations like this, a wholesale relationship can dramatically shorten a partner’s time to market while pro- viding significant revenue and margin enhancements. CV: What’s guiding your overall company mission going forward? RM: In short, our partners and their clients. We keep two fingers on the pulse of technology to make sure that we are bringing the appropriate solutions to market, while at the same time keeping both ears open as our partners and clients continually com- municate what they need from us to be successful. In the end, our success is 100% driven by the success of our partners and their clients. CV: Is there anything else that you’d like to highlight for channel part- ners, i.e., company expansion, ma- jor differentiators, channel program changes, etc.? RM: 2017 has certainly been an ex- citing year for C3. Our hosting platforms in Miami, New York and Las Vegas all saw significant expansion, and our Cleveland-based hosting platform will be online and generally available in Q1 of 2018. We also are currently exploring an expansion into Canada, specifically in Montreal and Toronto. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria reminded all of us just how important disaster recovery, business continuity and geo-redun- dancy can be, and Equifax, Saks Fifth Avenue and Chipotle all continued to reinforce the fact that network security cannot be overlooked. 60 Channel Vision | 2018 Directory