Park Place Technologies Taps Former NetApp Exec As First Channel Chief

Park Place Technologies has been moving to less focus on third-party maintenance and more on services, and the hiring of Jeff McCullough to build a formal channel program is expected to accelerate that movement.

Park Place Technologies, a provider of third-party IT data center equipment management, has hired former NetApp channel chief Jeff McCullough to be its new global vice president of channel sales.

McCullough, who in September left storage vendor NetApp, is the first-ever channel chief for Cleveland, Ohio-based Park Place Technologies, and joins the company with a mandate to build its first formal channel program.

While McCullough has only recently joined Park Place Technologies, he said the company is ready to formalize how it works with partners.

[Related: Channel VP Jeff McCullough On How NetApp Partners Can Profit By Selling AWS, Azure, Google]

"This year, we will launch a new and richer channel program in terms of features and benefits," he told CRN. "We have a small community of partners, and we want to get them more engaged."

McCullough said the program will include a partner portal with such capabilities as deal registration, and will be positioned at helping Park Place Technologies and its partners grow their businesses.

Currently, about half of Park Place Technologies' business goes through indirect channel partners, McCullough said.

"I've come to appreciate that half of this business is being transacted through the channel today with only a basic channel program," he said. "But the company is interested in driving a channel vision. It has a view to drive growth through the channel. My job is to help take us to the next level by building a more aggressive program for the partners."

Park Place Technologies has been on an acquisition spree, and in January made its thirteenth acquisition since 2016 with the acquisition of the network operations center (NOC) business of IntelliNet.

McCullough said it was Park Place Technologies' August, 2019 acquisition of Entuity, a provider of network monitoring software, that really convinced him to seriously consider joining the company.

"What really stood out was the acquisition of Entuity," he said. "That showed they were moving from a maintenance focus to a services focus," he said.

With the hiring of McCullough to run a formal channel program, Park Place Technologies is taking a very proactive approach to the channel, said Deborah Bannworth, senior vice president of strategic alliances and inside sales at Sirius Computer Solutions, a San Antonio, Tex.-based solution provider.

"Historically, we've not seen a channel-first approach at Park Place," Bannworth told CRN. "Jeff has a proven track record and experience with putting partners first. In my mind, the hiring of Jeff in that role is a clear indicator that Park Place Technologies is investing in its channel program. I couldn't be more pleased with Park Place Technologies hiring Jeff."