As the technology industry shifts from hardware and products to services, software, and development, there is a greater focus on speed, value, and customer experience. To deliver successfully on that promise, it requires a team of people that understand the requirements and business outcomes expected.
That is why the EDGE360 team is going beyond technology and products to highlight the people behind the scenes on the Comstor team. These are the people who interact with partners every day, and who understand the Cisco business. As part of our Meet the People series, we talked with the Cisco Services and Software team at Comstor.
Today, we are featuring Becky Lozada, Director, Cisco Services and Software for Comstor. With 15 years in the channel, spending the past three in this current role, Lozada’s focus has been on Cisco with an emphasis on services and software. She recently sat down with our team to share a bit more about her role:
EDGE360 Editors: How did you get started in this field and what excites you most about what you do?
Becky Lozada: I started with Comstor in a sales support role where I got to support multiple vendor lines. When the opportunity arose to back-fill the Cisco Services SME position, I jumped at it. It’s exciting to be able to work with partners and see them fulfill their business goals. Due to the shift in Cisco’s sales model, there are tons of opportunities to learn new offers and help enable the evolution of our partners.
EDGE360 Editors: Tell us about your role at Comstor and how you help partners?
Lozada: I’m fortunate to lead an experienced team of subject matter experts who have come together to form one awesome team. We’ve been able to leverage their different channel experiences to address complex opportunities by looking at things at a variety of angles.
Unlike traditional product business that focuses on fulfillment of an order, services and software contracts require continued upkeep and renewals. Those touchpoints allow us to get sticky with our partners, learn their business, and form true partnerships.
EDGE360 Editors: What advice do you have for partners looking to get started with Cisco today?
Lozada: There are a few things that I’d advise partners. First, embrace the cloud. Leveraging Comstor’s Quick Start program will give a great introduction into Cisco’s “Simple IT” offers, which are built to have a fast go-to-market. It is also important to build a customer experience (CX) organization/mentality. Ensuring that customers are happy with business outcomes makes renewals a non-event and helps create professional services and other expansion opportunities.
