Blog
Andrew Kaye, Google Partner Enablement Lead
Meet the team behind CloudM in our “Great Minds Make Great Tech” series
In this installment of our Great Minds make Great Tech series, we have been chatting to a CloudM original who, having joined the fledgling business straight out of university (“I was the general dog’s body in those days, making brews and replying to the odd email”), is now embarking on a new challenge – putting the focus back on growing and nurturing our amazing partner network.
Meet Andrew
After nearly a decade in the sales team at CloudM, I’ve recently taken up the newly created (and exciting) role of Google Partner Enablement Lead. I’ve always loved working alongside our partner network, which has grown to over 200 partners worldwide, and they weren’t getting the love they deserved. This new role is here to sort that!
It’s important that we grow and nurture these relationships. It shouldn’t be wholly about closing individual deals, but also providing support and guidance when needed, being a sounding board for ideas and feedback, and being open and transparent about what we are planning, why we are planning it and what the benefits are for the partner.
How did your current role come about?
The role came about quite naturally. Early last year, I had a series of chats with Tom (our Managing Director) about CloudM. They were healthy and honest, and covered everything from my personal career progression and skills, to areas of the business that I thought we should focus on or improve.
The topic of partner relationships just kept cropping up and it became obvious that not only did it need more attention, but that I was the right person to lead it. I understand their challenges and needs (having faced all of them during my time in sales) and have always been good at building relationships and resolving conflicts. Having a centralized Partner Enablement team also means that not only can we focus on the individual relationships, but we can look at and improve the processes and resources we have in the business, making them easily and quickly available to all partners as and when needed.
It’s amazing to know that your opinion is listened to and valued, at all levels within the business. I’m also getting to put my own ideas into practice and make a genuine difference to our partners, which is exciting and gratifying.
What are you excited about in the next few years?
Personally, leading and growing the Google Partner Enablement Team at CloudM, and genuinely seeing existing relationships strengthen and new relationships forged. I’ve already got a lot of partner visits scheduled for this year to see them face to face, and we are hosting our bootcamps and partner summits in more locations than ever – including the Asia Pacific region for the first time.
“We always come away from these meetings and events with tangible outcomes, beneficial to both parties.”
I definitely think there will be a lot of great opportunities for our partners in 2023 as well. We are getting to a point where companies are regaining the confidence, post pandemic, to start some of those bigger projects they have put on hold, including cloud migration and management. We want to make it easier for our partners to capitalize on this renewed confidence in the market.
My favorite part of the working week is…
… meeting up with colleagues. Whether that is in a virtual group meeting (including people from the US and Europe) or individually in the Manchester office, it’s always nice to connect on a personal level and hear about the success stories, challenges, and exciting plans in other areas of the business.
Not only does it give me more knowledge, news and resources to share with Partners, such as a new, highly requested feature being developed, but also stops you from becoming isolated.
Having the freedom to choose to work from home, the office or anywhere in the world really helps with the work / life balance. I personally feel that I’m a lot more productive and happier without the 20 hours commute every week.
What’s your favorite CloudM value?
Of the CloudM values, “Crack on” is definitely the one that I relate to the most. I’m like that in life anyway – proactive. You are given the autonomy to get on with the task, and the confidence in your own skills, talents and experience to succeed.
That’s not to say that you have to do it all on your own. Having been at CloudM from almost the beginning, the level of talent, expertise and experience throughout the entire business now is great to see. Everyone is really open and honest, from the top down. Everyone is happy to help each other succeed. It’s a great place to be!
Why do you like working in tech?
The best thing about working in tech generally is that it’s always changing and evolving. No day is ever the same in this type of role which is something that I love. It keeps the job fresh and enjoyable.
I’ve always been interested in tech in general so I enjoy learning about new developments, features and trends in the CloudM software and the wider industry. Working out how these changes will affect a partner and being proactive is both challenging and rewarding.
Why CloudM?
Outside of the salary and perks (which are great when compared to the rest of the market), I think CloudM offers you opportunities. For example, you might join CloudM in one role, based on your previous experience and skills, and find yourself in an altogether different, more rewarding and impactful role a couple of years down the road, based on your interests and talents.
CloudM is good at identifying what people are best at and will provide the scope, freedom and support to make sure they are in the right place to help both the employee and the business develop.
If you’re interested in joining the CloudM team, head over to our careers site
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