Pax8 Lands Channel Leader From StorageCraft In Push To Double New Partner Additions

Pax8 has snagged a former StorageCraft leader to spearhead engagement with IT service provider communities in hopes of doubling the number of partners onboarded each month.

The Greenwood Village, Colo.-based cloud distributor said Jennifer Bodell would help revamp Pax8's partner program to better leverage automation and forge tighter bonds with organizations such as The ASCII Group, HTG and Robin Robins. Bodell spent nearly three years as Draper, Utah-based StorageCraft as a channel marketing manager and inside channel account manager.

"I'm excited to spread the word about Pax8," said Bodell, who will serve as Pax8's director of emerging channel. "I believe in the direction they're going."

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Bodell is expected to help Pax8 accelerate from onboarding 50 new partners each month to bringing on 100 new partners monthly, according to Ryan Walsh, the distributor's senior vice president of partner solutions. She will also help Pax8's 1,000 existing partners grow their base of recurring revenue from as little as 10 percent of overall sales to a healthier range of 50 percent to 75 percent of total revenue.

"Our goal is to go in there and really deepen these relationships," Bodell said. "The relationship is what makes a partner sticky."

Pax8 is also adding support roles within its organization focused on formulating a comprehensive plan to help new partners grow their business with Pax8, Walsh said.

Bodell will also work with Nick Heddy, Pax8's vice president of sales, to launch the next generation of the distributor's partner program. Bodell said she had been involved in redesigning StorageCraft's entire partner portal.

The first step of the relaunched partner program will be unveiled in February, and Bodell said doesn't want to create the traditional tiered partner program that everyone else has.

Walsh said the channel should expect Pax8 is looking to determine the right balance between automation and high-touch support and will continue to leverage automation to shorten the time needed to fulfill partner requests. Pax8 will also examine how it aligns its internal sales and marketing teams with partners, Walsh said.

Pax8 is interesting in working more closely with ASCII, HTG and Robin Robins since their members are on the cutting-edge of the channel, Bodell said, with a laser focus on adopting best practices and migrating to the cloud. Bodell has worked with these peer groups for the past two and a half years at StorageCraft, and said the first peer group she'll attend as a Pax8 leader would be Robin Robins later this week.

"We believe that these communities represent the future," Bodell said. "That's what it's all about."

Pax8 has started engaging with some of ASCII's regional groups and Robin Robins' communities and services prior to Bodell's arrival, Walsh said, but didn't have much interaction with HTG.

IntegriNet would be pleased if Pax8 improved the flow and transparency of its automated steps, according to General Manager Seth Edvalson. The Boise, Idaho-based solution provider has been a Pax8 partner for a couple of years and is pleased the distributor will be working more closely with user groups such as ASCII and HTG.

Much of IntegriNet's work with Pax8 is already automated, and Edvalson said his company has been very pleased with the distributor's product and service offerings.

"I'm excited to hear that Jennifer Bodell has joined their team and look forward to seeing what she will accomplish," Edvalson told CRN. "I have always found their sales staff and technical support staff to be first class."