Thriving channel ecosystem key to Qualtrics’ APJ strategy

Launching new initiatives through to expanding its operational capabilities, experience management software company Qualtrics has kept its finger on the pulse across Asia Pacific and Japan.

Scott Thompson, chief partner officer at Qualtrics, told ARN it has continued strengthening its presence and delivering value to customers. These efforts underscore its dedication to advancing technology and addressing evolving market needs.

“Our partner ecosystem continues to thrive, fostering collaboration and driving innovation across diverse markets,” he said. “Collaboration remains at the heart of our strategy, enabling us to deliver impactful solutions and value to our customers.

Thompson, who was in Sydney for the Qualtrics channel partner event, said the company is looking at driving the channel and fostering more impactful customer conversations with its partners.

According to Thompson, the vendor’s approach to the channel involves combining its technology with partners’ “co-innovation”,” particularly with integrated service vendors (ISVs), to bring to life the broader conversations with customers.

“Another area where partners see significant value and are increasingly onboard is navigating the challenging market conditions,” he said. “Securing budget approvals for new projects is tougher than ever. Partners are finding that Qualtrics provides crucial data proof points to pinpoint where customers face their most significant challenges and how they prioritise changes and initiatives.”

Ultimately, this foundational dataset guides strategic decision-making up to the board level, informing critical changes, said Thompson.

“Our advisory partners leverage this capability to drive conversations and seal major business transformation deals,” he said.

“We’re not seeing many of those $50-$60 million software deals or engagements with large companies,” he said. “It’s really about identifying opportunities in the APJ market and leveraging partnerships with global organisations to ensure seamless regional integration.”

Reflecting on Thompson’s experience over the past 17 years at Microsoft and now at Qualtrics, Australia has consistently been an agile and small enough market to pioneer new technologies.

“Going back 30 years to the deregulation of the telecommunications market, Australia was among the first countries to embrace this change,” he said.

“I was talking to a local but quite prominent partner about their vision to work with councils or state governments on citizen experience. How do we address issues like underrepresented communities and their participation in local government? How do we apply innovative and forward-thinking practices from Australia?

There’s a lot to learn here that we can take back to the US, like how they’re working with state governments on security and GDPR. These initiatives, such as those around security in California, are very promising. I am hopeful and excited about my experience here in Australia.”

According to Thompson, the company is focused and invested in the local channel community.

“We’re not here to run a multilevel channel at this point,” he said. “We’re here to become focused and drive meaningful conversations with clients to ensure that customers get real value. We’re not looking for a hundred people to sell and move on.”

Qualtrics has some partners who are good at specific things, which helps its sellers understand who to call because they have customers that fit those scenarios. That’s where the company wants to drive focus with its new partners.

“We don’t want to sign up partners who can’t drive a channel or do anything specific,” he said.

For example, Qualtrics is working with a local partner that will use its technology to examine a person’s process when injured at work.

“If someone has a severe injury and an ambulance is called, we want to track whether they are kept in touch with and if they are attending their physio appointments,” he said. “This has real implications for both businesses and employees. We could potentially analyse an organisation’s risk and help major insurers reduce premiums if certain risk levels are met, ensuring employees return to work sooner.”

This is 100 per cent partner-driven, noted Thompson.

“They are testing it with clients, refining the theories and investing in the product,” he said. “Ideally, we’d like to showcase this at our next channel partner event in Sydney.”