TALKING
business
‘‘
For decades now, IT giants have got
away with playing hardball with
customers. They have had customers
locked into their wares because it has
been the ‘devil’s’ job to untether business
processes from suppliers’ closed systems.
Some of the biggest names have survived
(and yes, prospered) by pursuing tough,
even combative relationships, safe in the
knowledge that it’s hard for those companies
to move away from the core platforms that
underpin corporate operations.
Today, as companies dust themselves off
and prepare to blink into the light of the
brave new world of our post-COVID-19
future, we need far better buyer and seller
relationships in order to survive and prosper.
Nobody is immune to change. For the
past several months at Nutanix, we have
had to alter how we talk to customers,
becoming even more of a listening
company as CIOs and CFOs tell us about
sudden declines in revenues, urgent support
needs and a kaleidoscope of other factors
that are miles away from business as usual.
We are no longer hopping on flights but
on Zoom calls and we’re hearing alarming
stories from valued customers telling us
they are struggling.
The pandemic has created a business
environment that makes the banking crisis of
2007–2008 look like a cakewalk. In Italy for
example, world-famous car marques such as
Ferrari and Fiat paused production. In Spain,
Inditex, owner of ubiquitous apparel brands
such as Zara and Massimo Dutti, shut stores
and switched some production to medical
supplies such as masks and scrubs. Superbrands
such as Premier League football
shuddered to a halt leaving us starved of
action. Many of us couldn’t even have a
relaxing drink or meal as restaurants put up
closed signs.
Behind each of these stories lies a huge
amount of headache and heartache. With
revenues screeching to a halt, companies
need to familiarise themselves with an
utterly novel set of circumstances and work
out what to do with their people, operating
models and channels to market.
For a fortunate few companies that are
cloud-centric, there has been an uptick:
Amazon and other online retailers; meal
Andrew Brinded, Vice President and Sales
Chief Operating Officer, Nutanix
“
FOR THE PAST
SEVERAL MONTHS
AT NUTANIX,
WE HAVE HAD
TO ALTER HOW
WE TALK TO
CUSTOMERS,
BECOMING
EVEN MORE OF
A LISTENING
COMPANY AS CIOS
AND CFOS TELL US
ABOUT SUDDEN
DECLINES IN
REVENUES.
delivery services such as Deliveroo, Uber
Eats; Zoom and other videoconferencing
services, of course. What these companies
have in common is a heavy investment in
cloud infrastructure, but the need to scale
their systems suddenly to cope with spikes
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