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Defense contracting is a multi-hundred-billion dollar activity. It can also be highly technical and demanding. Now the University of Oklahomas Graduate School of Business has launched an online graduate degree program for aerospace and defense. Joining me with the details, the program director, Shad Satterthwaite.

Tom Temin: Mr. Satterthwaite, good to have you on.

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Shad Satterthwaite:Good to be on, Tom. Thank you.

Tom Temin: So what is the motivation for launching a program like this at this particular time?

Shad Satterthwaite:Yeah, thats a good question. Oklahoma is an energy state but our second largest economic sector is aerospace and defense. And the University of Oklahoma in Norman is just south of Oklahoma City. And Tinker Air Force Base is right here in the center. And so Oklahoma is really a hub in many ways for the aerospace and defense industry. Its very important for us politically, our Sen. [Jim] Inhofe chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was a former member of Congress from Oklahoma. So its a very important industry for our state. Because were close to Tinker Air Force Base there have been a number of defense contractors that have located here. And there is a need, as this sector grows in Oklahoma, to have an educated workforce in aerospace and defense, a lot of those are engineer positions. But the Business College was approached by the industry saying, Hey, we need management training for this sector. And so they stepped up and put together this program where you can get an executive MBA in a years time for those that are working in the industry right now. Its kind of a hybrid, mostly online. There are three residency weeks here too. But that was the impetus behind getting this started.

Tom Temin: And what are the unique managerial challenges in defense and aerospace say that you might not find in, you know, chocolate making or automobile building?

Shad Satterthwaite:Thats true. Thats true. You know, and Ive been asked that before what why not just a standard MBA? You know, could it be applicable here to aerospace and defense? The answer is what theyre finding its a highly technical industry. And we, even in the state of Oklahoma want to recruit more engineers to this field. But theres a need to bridge the gap between the vision that our defense contractors have and what the government needs them to produce, and then the actual production of it. And so youve got a lot of bright people that are very tech savvy, very talented, and yet they need training to manage that to be able to share that vision to talk that talk, as well as talk with the engineers are talking about and be able to relay that both up and down in the production lines.

Tom Temin: And I guess over the decades, companies that have both military aerospace contracting businesses and commercial have struggled, really, with trying to combine them into one company, unless youre maybe like a General Electric where the engines are essentially the same whether for a commercial aircraft or a defense aircraft.

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Shad Satterthwaite:Yeah, you make you make a very good point there, because they are different. Theres a lot of different pieces there. And translating that into something where you can be able to relate that with the needs are of the government with the industry can provide. And then getting back to where thats produced. You know that the single largest customer in aerospace and defense is the U.S. government. And so we do feel thats an important piece of this program is teaching those that will be in the class, how the government process works, the contracting process works in those kinds of things.

Tom Temin: Were speaking with Shad Satterthwaite. Hes director of the executive business programs in aerospace and defense at the University of Oklahoma. And what types of people do you wish to attract to this program? Engineers that want to get on to the business side perhaps, or mid-level executives in the business end already, or what?

Shad Satterthwaite:Yeah, what were seeing as prospective students are inquiring about the program they come from three areas, primarily. One is military personnel that are transitioning out of the service and want to start another career in defense and aerospace on the civilian side. The other is with, as you mentioned, engineers, aerospace engineers in particular that have management aspirations. And then the other, the third part are those that are in leadership or managerial positions already, that just want to get an added credential and learn even more so that they can apply those skill sets more fully to their organizations.

Tom Temin: And what about people that might be in government say, as contracting officers or program managers in some of these areas? Would they benefit and are they eligible?

Shad Satterthwaite:Yeah, they certainly would. In fact, we would like to attract more of those there. And I think right now the program is so new in our marketing efforts. That is a sector that we havent marketed to as much as we could have, as the program develops, our first cohort is going to be starting this August. We hope to have more in there because, as you mentioned, Tom, we think this program can be very valuable to someone in that position.

Tom Temin: And what are some of the business, I guess, understandings that maybe aerospace executives or would-be executives would need to have? I can think of one for example, is that the sales cycles and the payment and accounting processes can be very different, when you have a federal customer versus a commercial customer.

Shad Satterthwaite:It is. Ill tell you about some of the courses that you take in that and sales is certainly one of those. One of our faculty members is he started his own company, you know, because he was very good at government contracts. Hes a lawyer by trade, and he is going to be teaching the government contracts course. And he started up his own company here in Oklahoma City, and is very excited about this particular program, because just as youre pointing out, he thinks its very important to understand how that process works. And so we have a number of different courses managing government contracts is one of those courses. But also, you mentioned the sales, marketing. There are specific rules and regulations that need to be understood for that. Mergers and acquisitions, global aerospace and defense strategy and thats a particularly neat class because thats going to be done overseas. And so its an executive program thats mostly online. But we do have three resident modules throughout the course of the year at the beginning, in the middle and at the end, and the one in the middle is going to be in Europe. So were going to be doing some field trips there to some different sites to give the students a better idea of what the global and aerospace defense strategy is kind of a birds eye view, if you will.

Tom Temin: It sounds like a good opportunity for participants to meet people in the cohort and maybe form relationships that could take them through their industrial careers.

Shad Satterthwaite:Oh, you bet it is. Thats really the whole point of the class, the executive education, doing it in the format that we are. Its a cohort model. So students will come together. Well bring em in that first week here in Oklahoma City. Theyll work together for a week with a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives, they get to know each other, they get to establish those relationships. Then they go back to their places of work and do the online training til they meet again, to go to Europe. More online training after the European resident phase. And then the very end theyll meet back up in Oklahoma City. And so yes, they are networking, but you know, also creating lifelong friendships and connections through this cohort model.

Tom Temin: And what is your own background that led you to this particular perch at Oklahoma?

Shad Satterthwaite:Yeah, so Ive been on faculty at the University of Oklahoma since 1998. And then Ive had different administrative positions. My last position prior to this one was I was the associate dean for extended campus. And we have programs at the University of Oklahoma on military bases in North America and and Europe as well as online courses. And so Im also the faculty adviser for our Student Veterans Association. So I have a background in the military. Im currently a colonel in the Army Reserves. And I just had this is a very interesting sector for me, obviously. And so being able to marry my academic interest with my interest in the military and government just seemed like a great fit when I moved over to the College of Business. So its something Im obviously very excited to do.

Tom Temin: And the first cohort begins when?

Shad Satterthwaite:Aug. 16.

Tom Temin: All right, well, good luck.

Shad Satterthwaite:Thank you, Tom.

Tom Temin: Shad Satterthwaite is director of the executive business programs in aerospace and defense at the University of Oklahoma. Thanks so much for joining me.

Shad Satterthwaite:My pleasure, Tom, its great being with you today.

Tom Temin: Well post this interview along with a link to more information at FederalNewsNetwork.com/FederalDrive. Hear the Federal Drive on your schedule. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts or Podcastone.

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A new program for those looking to learn the ins and outs of defense contracting - Federal News Network

Covering COVID-19 is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Thursday that people in his state who are doing a number of public activities taking taxis, rideshare vehicles or public transit; standing in line to enter a building; or walking through common areas like hallways, stairways, elevators or parking garages must wear a mask. And it goes further.

You must wear a mask if you are working in a building open to the public. You must wear a mask anywhere food is prepared or packaged for sale. If you are outdoors and you cannot be six feet apart from others, you must wear a mask.

Starting noon Friday, Raleigh, North Carolina, will have a similar rule.

The Florida Keys will require masks through June 2021, a date that rocked me back. In Key West, if there is a roof over your head, there should be a mask on your face.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is about to impose a mask law for seven counties, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Here is a state-by-state list of mask laws around America.

My son was banned from wearing a mask with a little valve on it at the dentists office the other day. Forbes said:

You should know that face masks with valves are being banned in a growing number of places, from much of California to the Colorado cities of Denver and Boulder.

The non-compliant masks have a one-way valve that allows your exhaled air to pass through a small round or square filter disk attached to the front of the mask.

At first blush, valve masks may seem technologically superior to plain old cloth or disposable surgical masks, but in fact they fall short. Designed to ease exhalation and decrease humidity for the wearer, they do not block transmission of COVID-19 because they allow exhaled air and droplets to escape.

By the way, I think its funny that on that very page right next to the Forbes article about why masks with valves are problematic and why you should check local guidelines before you wear one is an ad for a mask with a valve.

(Screenshot)

My single biggest complaint about wearing a mask is not that somebody is taking away my Constitutional rights or turning the country into a police state. Its that my mask steams up my glasses.

Why do they fog?Whenever warm air hits a cool surface, you get fog. It is true over a lake and it is true on your glasses. Your warm, exhaled breath hits the cool surface of your glasses while you walk through your air-conditioned grocery store and there you have it fogged lenses.

What can you do about it?Make sure your glasses have a nose bridge, which is a bendable material that makes the mask fit snugly around the bridge of your nose. That way, when you exhale, the warm air does not hit your glasses.

For homemade masks, sew a little twist tie, like the ones that keep bread fresh, into the nose of the mask. Or, for those of us from Kentucky, try duct tape. OK, maybe not. Maybe try bandage strips or even a cloth adhesive.

You can also use your glasses to make the seal. Put the mask on first, then put the glasses on top of the edge of the mask.

Or you can use the soapy water and soft cloth hack. Ask any glasses-wearing doctor or nurse and they will tell you they dip their glasses into soapy water, let them air dry then wipe them lightly with a soft cloth. The soap will leave a thin film on the lens and the fog wont stick to it.

Be careful with lens wipes. Make sure they wont damage the protective coatings on your lenses.

You may have noticed it, too the many people walking around the neighborhood. Maybe this will force us to think about the dire conditions of our sidewalks. But with local budgets about to be gutted by the COVID-19-caused tax crunch, sidewalks may get pushed even further down the priority lists.

This week, President Donald Trump pushed for a major infrastructure bill to stimulate Americas economy. When we think of infrastructure, we usually think of bridges and highways. But what is more local than sidewalks?

Bloomberg CityLab reported:

Current sidewalk deficiencies have accumulated over decades of neglect. In the pre-automotive era, many cities had far more space for pedestrians, says Arlie Adkins, a professor of urban planning at the University of Arizona. Since the 1920s weve seen this explosion of driving, and theres been a competition for fairly scarce real estate, he says. Theres only so much space between buildings, and weve made some clear choices about how that should be distributed.

The Bloomberg story said when push came to shove, cities opted to spend more money on streets and widening roads than sidewalks. And newer cities shorted sidewalk budgets even more than older cities that were built on pedestrian traffic. In Los Angeles, one group estimated half of the citys 11,000 miles of sidewalks were in disrepair.

In a place like New York that were built out before cars were dominant, youll see a more robust sidewalk network, Adkins says. But if you come to newer cities in the West, youll see a different picture. In Austin, for example, barely half of the citys nearly 5,000 miles of streets had sidewalks in 2017.

Where they do exist, sidewalks are treated as public spaces like streets but theres no consistency around who pays for sidewalks. Theyre the most bizarrely funded thing ever, says Emiko Atherton, Vice President for Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America. Depending on your jurisdiction, the homeowner or the city has to pay for it.

If a street is built without sidewalks, adding them is expensive. The Federal Transportation Department said the cost runs about $125,000 to $150,000 per mile to build a sidewalk that is up to code.

Sidewalks add to street safety. In my neighborhood, walkers mostly have to stroll with their dogs on the street.

Walking promotes health and sidewalks promote walking. The U.S. Transportation Department said:

14% of adult Americans state they never take walks.

The presence of sidewalks has a slight positive effect on the tendency for adults to take walks, but has no effect on the frequency of those walks. If people in communities without sidewalks (about one-third of the population), were to walk at the same rate as they do in communities with sidewalks, an additional 2.8 million adults would join the ranks of the walking.

Nonwalkers are more likely than walkers to assert that their communities need more sidewalks and to voice dissatisfaction with their community designs in making walking safe (overall 17%). In communities without sidewalks, adults are three times as likely as other adults to state their dissatisfaction.

Curbed, a blog that looks at urban planning issues, took a deep dive look at the politics and conflicts that come with sidewalks. Think of, for example, how restaurants right now are using public sidewalks for dining areas, and shops and vendors are moving items outside to keep traffic down inside the stores.

This weeks surprisingly good retail sales figures give us a few clues about what the public is planning this summer. MarketWatch reported:

Sales at auto dealers soared 44%; excluding cars, overall retail sales increased by 12.4%; the auto sector generally accounts for one-fifth of all retail spending.

The explanation is that people may be getting their cars ready for summer vacation road trips, rather than flying. People were buying auto parts similar to how they purchased home improvement materials in April and May.

40% of the retail sales increase came from the auto sector last month.

(Graphic from Reuters)

But be careful not to paint too rosy a picture. A big increase in sales follows an even bigger decrease in March and April car sales. The auto industry is not back to normal, not by a stretch.

Comparing May 2020 to May 2019, sales were down 29%. In April, year-to-year sales were down 48%.

An interesting chunk of this story is in the unsexy category of fleet sales. Normally, fleet sales account for one in five vehicles sold in the U.S. But as car rental companies saw the bottom drop out of their business, fleet sales tanked. The National Automobile Dealers Association said:

As a result, fleet sales were down year-over-year by a whopping 72% in May, while retail sales only fell by 17%.

The association said even while vehicle sales gain strength over the summer and fall, there is no reason to believe fleet sales will bounce back this year.

Everybody is trying to get Congress ear right now, including the businesses that build and sell big trucks, which said they want Congress to suspend the federal excise tax on 18-wheelers. The trucking industry pays a 12% federal excise tax on heavy-duty trucks and trailers.

The truck companies said about half of the big trucks on the road now are 10 years old or older and if the government cut the federal excise tax, companies that need to refresh their fleets might do so.

The tax adds about $12,000 to $22,000 to the price of a new big truck. The National Auto Dealers Association said, Due to the pandemic, heavy-duty truck sales in the U.S. fell 62.5% in May 2020 compared to the same time last year the lowest point since 2011.

Steve Bassett, chair of American Truck Dealers, wrote:

There is broad support across the entire trucking industry for suspension of the FET, including original equipment manufacturers, such as Daimler Trucks North America, Mack Trucks, Navistar Inc., PACCAR Inc and Volvo Trucks North America, suppliers, and purchasers. And in a recent survey of trucking fleets, American Trucking Associations (ATA) found that nearly 60% of respondents would be somewhat or very likely to buy additional trucks and/or trailers beyond their scheduled buy if the FET was eliminated.

I ran across this flipping through Overdrive Magazine:

A survey of more than 1,600 truck drivers found that they have felt safe overall during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are concerned for their own health, as well as bringing the virus home to their friends and families.

The survey conducted by Professional Driver Agency found that 72% of respondents said the biggest concern for truckers is bringing the virus home to family and friends. Of these drivers, 42% said they are staying out on the road longer instead of going home during the pandemic.

I am seeing this happening around the country. Drownings are way up this spring. WJHG TV in Panama City Beach, Florida, reported that childhood drownings are up 70% from a year ago. One reason why is that kids are home more.

In Houston, KHOU said drownings ticked up there, too, partly because people were locked up at home and when they went out to play, they looked for places that were away from other people.

In the Tampa Bay area, Johns Hopkins All Childrens hospital said drownings reported at its locations are up 100% this spring. In part, it is because kids are around home pools and their parents are busy working.

In the Dallas area, last weekend was particularly deadly, with three drowning deaths in two days. WFAA reported:

The American Academy of Pediatrics warned drownings could be on the rise this summer nationwide. The AAP says parents need to be more attentive as children spend more time at home because of COVID-19, with caregivers who may be distracted by work and other responsibilities.

With a number of public pools and popular attractions still closed because of the global pandemic, more parents are turning to small plastic or inflatable pools for the back yard. The small size can give parents a false sense of security as small children can drown in even a few inches of water, according to the AAP.

Childhood drownings have increased in the U.S. in recent years, even before the pandemic. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released new data this month saying childhood drownings have been slightly rising in recent years.

Almost 400 children under age 15 die by drowning in the U.S. each year. The commission said, In addition to fatal drownings, CPSCs new data shows that there were an estimated 6,700 pool-or-spa-related, hospital emergency department-treated, nonfatal child drowning injuries each year for 2017 through 2019. This is the equivalent of about 18 children every day, 365 days a year.

Six Olympic swimmers, two water polo players, 27 coaches and 5,000 aquatic industry-related businesses sent a letter to President Trump and state leaders pleading with them to open public pools as quickly as possible. The co-signers include Olympians Rowdy Gaines, Amanda Beard, Nathan Adrian and Amy Deloris Van Dyken-Rouen.

Here is a constantly updated state-by-state list of state regulations on public pools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most states opened pools at a greatly reduced capacity in the last couple of weeks.

The CPSC study I mentioned above also said home pools, not public pools where there are lifeguards, pose the biggest risks. The report said, Residential locations, such as a childs home, a family or friends house or a neighbors residence, made up 71% of the reported fatal drowning incidents.

The letter to public officials said, in part:

During these unprecedented times we truly believe we can safely return to the pools without jeopardizing the new normal that all Americans want and deserve. The CDC and NIH has confirmed that the disease cannot spread in properly chlorinated water. For physical and mental health, the water is one of the safer places to be at this time, and swimming is a lifelong activity. Opening swim centers would allow children to learn much needed water safety and drowning prevention skills. It would allow the 500,000 youth athletes on Americas swim teams to get back to their training. It would allow MILLIONS of American adults to exercise safely and build their immune systems which is needed now more than ever! We can do this safely. Swim training programs are carefully structured and can follow all recommendations that the CDC has recently released to reopen swimming pools.

Well be back Monday with a new edition of Covering COVID-19. Sign up hereto get it delivered right to your inbox.

Al Tompkins is senior faculty at Poynter. He can be reached at atompkins@poynter.org or on Twitter, @atompkins.

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Face mask rules are being enacted across the country. In one city, they're required through June 2021. - Poynter

Most organizations rely on sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) tools to manage their orders and revenue and organize business flows.

Implementing CRM solutions modernize sales processes for organizations and improve their customer experience by empowering salespeople to accelerate the sales cycle and get more control over opportunities.

Organizations are well aware of the fact that the right CRM tool can completely transform their sales workflow and accelerate productivity which is why many organizations have a CRM tool. Unfortunately, investment in a CRM alone doesnt equal broad user adoption.

According to CSO Insights, only 40% of businesses claim a 90% CRM adoption rate, while the majority of businesses struggle to encourage system adoption. We can conclude that implementing a CRM system in your organization will not always lead to a success story.

To turn the tables around, organizations need to get to the root cause of this failure, that is, low user adoption. The sad truth is that even with the aim of improving efficiency and productivity, the CRM projects often fail to translate into real-world usage by the people most likely to benefit from them.

Ineffective use of CRM can mismanage customer relationships, fail to capture important data and insights, or even lead to a loss of potential customers leaving unfavorable consequences on your business.

The CRM adoption challenge is difficult to tackle as its not just one problem, its a series of problems that feed into each other and create a vicious never-ending cycle.

We know that data is the lifeblood of every business, but for it to be of any value to the company it is critical for a salesperson to input, store, and update accurate data as well as ensure data quality and integrity.

For instance, after a prospect is discovered, a sales representative has to fill in its detailed info into the CRM and the same process has to be repeated after each interaction. Logging emails, phone calls, and recording meeting details become a major part of a sales reps daily routine which adds a lot of manual data entry tasks to their work which might complicate their job and drive them away from adopting the software.

This is where the vicious cycle begins - sales teams fail to see the CRM value right off the bat causing them to put in a very little effort in the data entry stage. Entering the data manually into the CRM is just a workplace drudgery for them. According to HubSpot, manual data entry tops the list of CRM adoption challenges and around 32% of sales reps spend over an hour on data entry every day which, lets face it, is not a very good use of their time.

Experts say that salespeople are reluctant to put in the manual effort as they think that the CRM solution is a way of controlling them and is a digital evidence that could be used against them in case they fail to reach their goals. Another reason for their resistance could be the complex interface of the application and lack of practical training which leaves them intimidated by the system.

With a decreased effort, the sales team might input low-quality data or leave out essential data points, causing the CRM to be powered by poor, inaccurate data. Poor data quality can become a huge overhead for companies. In fact, organizations believe that poor data quality is responsible for an average of $15 million loss per year.

Inadequate data makes the CRM system less valuable thereby decreasing its usage among the employees. The poor data also leads to poor insights that provide very little value to the sales and business development teams. This is a huge problem for management as well, since, without the data, a manager cant run reports or conduct analytics on those reports. And without the analytics, they fail to answer critical business questions. So the whole point of having a CRM in the first place is actually lost.

With little insight being gained from the inadequate data, the CRM will reinforce the sales team to believe that theres nothing in it for them. The cycle continues to repeat itself leaving them to grow more and more disinterested in the tool. Its not hard to see how this cycle can affect the CRM adoption rates. Most companies dont fully consider user adoption issues while planning a CRM project but it is critical for them to build a strong adoption strategy from the very beginning and keep it in focus throughout the CRM lifetime.

To break this vicious cycle of adoption, it is important to understand the challenges and then figure out the suitable solutions. So here are some of the most critical challenges of CRM user adoption.

Most CRM platforms are tailored according to the requirements of sales managers and leaders since they are the key decision-makers in purchase decisions. So to get the deals finalized, suppliers optimize the CRM features that are most suitable for the decision-makers, mainly pertaining to reporting, pipeline visibility, or forecasting. The result of this optimization is that ease of use is compromised, making the CRMs too cumbersome for sales reps to adopt.

Also, the decision-makers do not really understand the real value of the CRM tools and focus more on spending as little as possible. Hence, the CRM might not end up mirroring how sales reps actually wanted to execute the sales process but they are still expected to adopt the tool effectively. In most cases, almost no effort is made from the organizations to make users aware of the tool background or show them how and why it can help them achieve their KPIs. As a result, the moment they feel uncertain about how to use the tool, they fall back to the traditional methods of getting things done.

The less understanding users have about the benefits of the CRM, the more resistant they are towards the change. Its a sum-total of all this dissatisfaction that tends to impact the user adoption rates.

Businesses rely on certain tools like email or spreadsheets to run a wide variety of day-to-day processes. These tools are the center of gravity that define the workflows for a company. When a CRM is introduced, it often ends up competing against these tools for the similar tasks.

A CRM is implemented to achieve more consolidated communication and less use of spreadsheets. Failing to achieve these results can be an indication that the team is not using the CRM at the optimum level.

Since employees have been stuck with the old methods for a very long time, they feel comfortable in entering the data into the old, familiar spreadsheets, rather than putting additional effort to learn entering data into the new CRM. Most employees prefer traditional methods of getting things done. Another reason for people going back to the traditional methods could be the lack of on-the-go training on how to navigate through the complex interface of a CRM.

Instead of investing in customization and training processes, most companies simply purchase the software and ask the employees to figure it out themselves and expect them to start working right away.

As a result, employees are forced to navigate their way through the complex system, leaving them overwhelmed with the number of steps and features, again forcing them to switch to old methods. They would rather pull data from different sources and work with spreadsheets to make reports because it seems easier than navigating through the complicated CRM that doesn't provide the right training.

Even if some companies take initiatives to develop training programs for their employees to improve adoption rates, the challenge here is that the traditional system education methods arent suited for the digital world anymore. These methods are only setting the company up for failure. Lets see why:

How an organization decides to rollout a change can either make or break the user adoption efforts. If the organization fails to convey the whats in it for you factor to the users, it might lead to low accountability to use the tool. First impressions matter the most, and if the staffs first experience with a new CRM fails to meet their needs, people lose confidence in the capability of the software.

Even if the organization tries to make improvements, it would still be a huge challenge to actually change peoples minds and push them to accept the change because they will always hold the first impression in their minds.

In an ideal world, the CRM would have a "guru" who is an expert, a cheerleader, and a 24/7 point of contact for any issues faced by the users. But lets face it, the world is not ideal and the guru doesnt exit. Organizations mostly do not focus on supporting the new software users once the product is implemented which discourages the employees from adopting it.

Organizations fail to understand that a CRM is not a set it and forget it system as it is likely to release new features on a regular basis hence a constant promotion and support is required throughout its lifecycle. For instance, if a CRM admin needs to add custom objects for better report visibility, without the post-implementation support and lack of testing skills, the admin would modify the solution without checking if the objects reflect the necessary data and increase report visibility. This could lead to wrong data output.

Employees will always have queries and issues while trying to work with the new tool and features. Failing to provide users with enough support at the time causes a lack of enthusiasm leading to lower adoption rate and underutilization of the product.

So with the challenges well-known, once the platform is selected for a business, what are the CRM best practices that can help ensure a successful implementation? Lets discuss some targeted strategies and techniques that might help solve user adoption challenges.

Employees play the most significant role in successful CRM implementation. Hence, it is always wise to involve them from the very beginning of the implementation process and exhibit how the new system will reduce their workload. It is critical for organizations to make individual users understand the need of a new system to get the adoption process started off on the right foot.

To tailor the CRM according to user needs, the representative users across the sales hierarchy need to be involved in the software selection and design process. As a gesture for effective user adoption, users should be run through all the features to seek their perspective on the ideal CRM experience. Their inputs will help determine which application and workflow will be best suited to improve sales efficiency.

Also, communicating the staff about the value a CRM will bring to them and tying user adoption with personal growth and development will make users embrace the transformation more easily.

By now we already know that a CRM is only as good as the data in it. Only by filling it with quality data can the cycle of poor CRM adoption be broken. But manual effort is a big part of getting that quality data, which is just a monotonous, boring task for a user that keeps them from seeing the actual benefits of the tool. This is where CRM automation can change the game.

Automating time-consuming data entry and management tasks like customer outreach with quick email and call logging or email templates with merge fields can help reduce the manual entry efforts and make users see the CRM as a labor-saving tool. Every manual effort reduced by automation translates into lower frustration levels for the users and increased efficiency.

Automation fits into the business workflows and maintains quality data through automatic contact updates while ensuring that users dont have to change their ways of working just to get the data entered. Automation helps clean up the data, keep it up-to-date and also generate valuable insights that are easily visible and accessible by sales reps.

In addition to data automation, CRM can also be optimized with tools like relationship intelligence automation (RIA). RIA collects, stores and analyzes customer data from multiple resources like emails or social media and delivers automatically to the sales team without any manual input. It serves the CRM users with workable relationship insights that can help accelerate sales and strengthen customer relationships.

When it comes to the adoption of complex CRM applications like Salesforce, training cannot be just about sending employees to a traditional training class for a few weeks and overwhelming them with too much information at once. Instead, a short, initial training period that focuses on onboarding and a few key processes is the right way to get started with the training plan.

Digital adoption solutions (DAS) can be overlaid onto CRM applications (like Salesforce) to offer automated continuous learning while onboarding users to the new app. The system helps accelerate Digital Adoption in an organization by placing employees on the front lines and assisting them while working a typical day, providing walkthroughs to tackle practical tasks like adding an opportunity, data entry, data update, etc. DAS enables learning in the flow of work and prevents users from exiting the application to find help.

Digital adoption solutions can help improve CRM user adoption by:

The sales reps should always feel empowered to provide suggestions for improvements in the tool or report a process that is too complex for them. There is nothing more motivating to a user than knowing that their opinion is valued which keeps them engaged and makes them feel more invested in making the implementation successful. Hence, it is vital for organizations to understand the pulse of the users by regularly collecting their feedback and then channeling it to make improvements or add new features in the CRM.

Apart from providing in-app guidance, DAS also enables the monitoring of employee-software interactions as well. This monitoring is done by tracking user behavior like which CRM features are being used and how, record creation or updation rates, activity completion, open or closed tasks etc. Such insights can be used to understand software usage, what features the users need more help in, errors, and plug the gap accordingly. This can help improve the adoption metrics and create a better user experience.

CRM is meant to organize data and contacts based on targeted groups of customers, provide reports that give a direction to a business, and integrate with other software so it never moves away from the sales process.

CRM is an effective tool that salespeople should not fear. Instead, its up to managers to make their teams aware of how it can make their lives easier. It is important to pay attention to what users want, give them the chance to voice any concerns, and highlight whats in it for them to encourage adoption.

The CRM strategies discussed above can help organizations to encourage user adoption because they are all focused on the sales team. All of these aspects run parallel to each other and are tied together for a successful CRM implementation.

A CRM is not a static thing; rather, it is complex and needs to be constantly supported, maintained, and shaped toward refinement. Achieving the desired user adoption rates does not happen overnight; it requires an ongoing investment in improvement and dealing with milestones.

Discover the best CRM software solution for your business needs only on G2.

Disha Gupta is a content marketer at Whatfix. She helps organizations accelerate digital adoption by spreading awareness through her content. She has a great passion for writing anything and everything from poems to blog posts.

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5 Reasons for Low CRM Adoption and How to Tackle It - G2 Crowd

Louise Taute, Director, Comstor Southern Africa

It has not been an easy few years for the channel. A new generation of technologies has radically altered the value propositions offered to the market, not to mention how they generate profits. Customers have been urged to adapt and change, and that same requirement soon impacted the channel as well. How we do business shifted as radically as what we offer. The big bang projects have made way for long-term, iterative value generation. Its been important for channel providers to catch up to the new trends.

Then COVID-19 appeared on the scene, doubling down on the urgency. In some ways, the world has and will be changing forever. But there are also spaces where the outbreak has accelerated certain anticipated outcomes, explains Louise Taute, Comstor Director Southern Africa.

I think we can all agree that the companies which adopted new digital systems have been able to navigate the pandemic better than their competitors. This trend is evident in how some companies could switch to work-from-home arrangements almost overnight. Another example is the rapid adoption of video conferencing. These are examples of changes that have been ready and waiting in the wings, but suddenly became very relevant when the older ways of working were no longer practical.

Such outcomes might seem like great news for the channel. Yet in reality, many are still in the process of transforming. Transformation is particularly relevant to frontline channel providers those who form the layer between customers, and distributors and vendors.

Serving the new channel

Distributors, in particular, are vital to helping the frontline evolve and thrive. By placing end-user needs at the heart of changing business demands, they can help channel companies provide customer-relevant technology solutions. But this will require far more than catchy marketing slogans.

We have to appreciate that both the channel and its customers are under extreme pressure. Channel partners need to find increasingly innovative ways to install, manage, and support solutions for their customer, Taute elaborates.

The channel demands a new approach, consisting of training and enablement, professional services, software as a service and cross-vendor solutions. Distributors are the primary facilitators of this approach, providing their focus settles on helping partners and customers embrace change with future-proof technologies.

Specifically, two areas need attention. First, the traditional way of managing the sales cycle is evolving to become more digital-centric. This shift prompts the need for digital platforms that give channel companies a single view both of customer activities and the choices they can offer them. The channels operating model must change into a more efficient one, befitting their customers digital-centric business environments that require round-the-clock access to ICT solutions.

Secondly, there has to be more clarity on what vendors can offer and how different offerings can combine to deliver solutions. The biggest downside of new technologies is the complexity they create under the hood. Customers look to channel partners to navigate those complexities, who rely in turn on distributors to help illuminate different choices. Vendors are doing the same: they increasingly lean on distributors to appreciate and communicate the various combinations offered by their products.

These were already pressing challenges before the COVID pandemic. But the latter has both accelerated these trends and disrupted them significantly. More than ever before, customers look to channel partners for certainty, and the channel turns to distributors for guidance. If the channel is to reinvent itself successfully, distributors are the linchpins. Their investments in digital tools for pre-sales, sales, training, inventory, marketing and other services are crucial for enabling the channels evolution.

Distributors must serve the channel via their traditional channel-centric models as well as innovative digital options to drive a digital-first strategy, says Taute. They must equip their channel partners with the tools, technology integration and automation they need to better sell technology, no matter the logistics behind how solutions are delivered.

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Reinventing the channel: COVID-19 and beyond - ITWeb

The report portraying research of this worldwide market that is Sales Training encircles the speedy of expansion of this market for its forecast that is projected. Offering an overview, the report comprises Sales Training market size and the estimation of this worldwide market while within the time interval of time. Additionally, it highlights conveying facets for its expansion of their worldwide market that is in addition to players on the market alongside their global Sales Training market share. The worldwide Sales Training market report 2020 provides invaluable insights on the players impacting the market, for example, their size, industry synopsis, and product offerings. The Sales Training analysis covers the increase in the market players that are well known. While calculating the expansion of Sales Training market players, then it believes their latest improvements in the field.

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Report Includes Global Sales Training Market Segment From Leading/Top Manufacturers are:

Action Selling IMPAX BTS Aslan Training and Development Imparta The Brooks Group Janek Performance Group DoubleDigit Sales Carew International Integrity Solutions Revenue Storm Sales Readiness Group Kurlan & Associates Wilson Learning Richardson RAIN Group Mercuri International ValueSelling Associates Sales Performance International Miller Heiman Group

A simple summary of this Sales Training industry for example definitions, segmentation, software, leading vendors, economic drivers and economic challenges. The global Sales Training market evaluation is provided for the market including competitive landscape evaluation growth tendencies and areas advancement status.

Global Sales Training Economy Segmentation with Product Type are:

Sales Skills Training CRM Training Sales Channel Management Training Sales Team Building Training Others

Global Sales Training Economy Segmentation with this End Users/Applications are:

BFSI Medical Real Estate Others

To understand market dynamics on the planet mainly, the global Sales Training market is examined over significant worldwide places:

India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, United States, Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Chile,and Rest of the World.

Ask our Expert if You Have a Query at: https://www.orbisreports.com/global-sales-training-market/?tab=discount

Key Queries Answered in the Sales Training General Market Trends Report:

-New entrants inside the global Sales Training industry are included;

-The controlling facets of this industry are included;

-Dependent on the prediction Sales Training trends the market-estimations-square step made for its tactical tips inside the company sections;

-Region-wise market status is in additionally included;

-At the upcoming part, the segmentation of this sector is enclosed;

-The industry segmentation is done on most of the attributes by Sales Training product-types is used, applications, the industrial verticals the sector is gaining;

-The current industry is likewise region shrewd;

-Expansion facets of this Sales Training market square step including;

-Detailed Sales Training business profiles square step included;

-The record gets got the overview of this Sales Training market that can ease in realizing that the industry concisely;

-Many trends like globalization, technology progress, overcapacity in established Sales Training market, promote fragmentation regulation ecological concerns, and also product development are covered in this report.

-Together with the Sales Training trend, this section, in addition, comprises the primary points in regards to the chapters and besides the sub-segments, that square step is fabricating the most revenue share over the global Sales Training sector.

The continuous changes which are occurring from the Sales Training market have caused it to be compulsory the market strategies and aspects. The reader should have the ability to be aware of the essential facets of the Sales Training industry, weve contained the points of this industry.

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Orbis Reports is constantly motivated to offer superlative run-down on ongoing market developments. To fulfill this, our voluminous data archive is laden with genuine and legitimately sourced data, subject to intense validation by our in-house subject experts. A grueling validation process is implemented to double-check details of extensive publisher data pools, prior to including their diverse research reports catering to multiple industries on our coherent platform. With an astute inclination for impeccable data sourcing, rigorous quality control measures are a part and parcel in Orbis Reports.

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Sales Training Market | By Type , By Application , By Region, and Key Companies Industry Segment Outlook, Trends and Forecast 2020-2025 - 3rd Watch...

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio has been monitoring the product-based sales training market and it is poised to grow by USD 4.21 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 13% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the growth of various industries, the immediate impact of the outbreak is varied. While a few industries will register a drop in demand, numerous others will continue to remain unscathed and show promising growth opportunities. Technavios in-depth research has all your needs covered as our research reports include all foreseeable market scenarios, including pre- & post-COVID-19 analysis. Download a Free Sample Report

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Allen Communication Learning Services, ASLAN Training & Development LLC, Brainshark Inc., Corporate Visions Inc., DoubleDigit Sales Inc., GP Strategies Corp., Korn Ferry, RAIN Group, Sandler Systems Inc., and The Brooks Group are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

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The growing emphasis on microlearning has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Technavio's custom research reports offer detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 at an industry level, a regional level, and subsequent supply chain operations. This customized report will also help clients keep up with new product launches in direct & indirect COVID-19 related markets, upcoming vaccines and pipeline analysis, and significant developments in vendor operations and government regulations. https://www.technavio.com/report/report/product-based-sales-training-market-industry-analysis

Product-based Sales Training Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Product-based Sales Training Market is segmented as below:

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40439

Product-based Sales Training Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The product-based sales training market report covers the following areas:

This study identifies the use of analytics in product-based sales training as one of the prime reasons driving the product-based sales training market growth during the next few years.

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Technavios in-depth research has direct and indirect COVID-19 impacted market research reports.

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Product-based Sales Training Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End-user

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Burden of COVID-19 on the Market & Rehabilitation Plan | Product-Based Sales Training Market 2020-2024 | Growing Emphasis on Microlearning to...

Partnership combines leading sales methodology with proven sales enablement and readiness technology to drive revenue growth

MindTickle, the leader in Sales Readiness technology, today announced a partnership with Sandler Training, the largest sales, management and leadership training organization, providing sales organizations with personalized training to improve customer engagement and drive revenue growth. Sandler Training content for sales and sales managers can now be tailored with a data-driven approach to further develop their skills and readiness leading to faster time to profitability and ongoing quota attainment.

The combination of Sandler Training and MindTickle empowers professionals to change behaviors, develop new attitudes and improve techniques, saidDavid Mattson, CEO and president of Sandler Training. This is proving to be especially important as todays sales landscape is going through significant short-term and long changes due to the current socio-economic crisis. Partnering with the leader in sales readiness and enablement to deliver our content and methodology was an easy choice. MindTickles ability to deliver personalized and data-driven training and skills development is extremely important as sales organizations are adapting to changing market conditions, but need to meet sales goals.

Marketing Technology News: Centrify Debuts Reliance Partner Program for Identity-Centric Privileged Access Management

The partnership between MindTickle and Sandler is ideal because Sandler provides the methodology and MindTickle provides the accessibility and feedback loop needed. Sandler can inject forward-thinking sales training into MindTickle, and MindTickle will provide Sandler better flexibility in delivery. This is exactly what I wanted! saidChrisina Ortega, sales and technical enablement leader.

Arecent studyconducted by The Sales Management Association found that B2B sales organizations delivering training continuously enjoy substantially higher rates of improvement in sales force effectiveness, improving 22% more than other firms. As companies look to improve their sales effectiveness to maximize revenue and drive brand value, they need to provide best-in-class content, methodologies and expertise to the sales team. However, access to content or annual training isnt enough to ensure success. Sales organizations require ongoing learning, skills development and coaching to reinforce best practices and keep salespeople engaged. With this partnership, organizations can leverage Sandlers exceptional sales training content within MindTickles sales enablement and sales readiness platform providing sales organizations with comprehensive sales training.

Marketing Technology News: Grammarly Launches Style Guides to Help Businesses Improve Consistency in Communications

With companies worldwide requiring employees to work from home, but also stay engaged and effective, the need for systematic alignment of methodology including manager observation and intervention as well as disciplined seller execution has never been more important. MindTickle and Sandler can support these sales teams with a proven standard and a playbook of best practices, content and training that is accessible anytime and anywhere, in the context of a buyer interaction, said Gopkiran Rao, chief strategy and marketing officer at MindTickle.Our partnership with Sandler Training gives organizations access to top-notch expertise, training and methodology as part of a holistic approach to sales readiness that enables companies to meet current or adjusted revenue targets.

Marketing Technology News: Automation Anywhere Advances Digital Workforce Platform to Make Businesses More Resilient

PR Newswire, a Cision company, is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms and distribution that marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers leverage to engage key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry over 60 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to- end solutions to produce, optimize and target content -- and then distribute and measure results. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire powers the stories of organizations around the world. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.

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MindTickle Partners with Sandler Training to Deliver Personalized World-Class Sales Readiness - MarTech Series

Global Product-based Sales Training Market 2020 by Company, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025 encloses the past, current, and projection size of the market both in terms of value and volume. The report covers various domestic vendors in the whole market and their market share. Further, different trusted sources were roped in to gather numbers, subdivisions, revenue, and shares. The report provides an exhaustive calculation of the Product-based Sales Training including industry chain structure, market drivers, opportunities, industry news analysis, industry policy analysis, market player profiles, and strategies. In the beginning, the report delivers sports market introduction, overview, market objectives, market definition, scope, and market size valuation.

The report categorizes the global Product-based Sales Training breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type, and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porters Five Forces Analysis. The research contains detailed profile assessments and current scenario revenue projections for the industry participants. Major aspects contributing to the development of the market are covered. The top outstanding industry players are also included in this report to understand the companys business strategies, sales, and factor of growth.

NOTE: Our analysts monitoring the situation across the globe explains that the market will generate remunerative prospects for producers post COVID-19 crisis. The report aims to provide an additional illustration of the latest scenario, economic slowdown, and COVID-19 impact on the overall industry.

DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE REPORT: https://marketandresearch.biz/sample-request/119912

Market Fundamentals:

The report provides large-scale research and conceptual analysis based on in-depth research methodology that involves accurate market estimation. The market driving forces studied during the past 5 years will lead to a feasibility study and analysis of investment opportunities. The insights into forecast market trends, application areas, and market development will lead to informed choices. A complete global Product-based Sales Training market picture is portrayed using primary and secondary research methodology and varied data sources.

Key companies based on the market competition specifies in the global Product-based Sales Training market are: ASLAN Training and Development, Carew International, Miller Heiman Group, DoubleDigit Sales, Cohen Brown Management Group, GP Strategies, Kurlan & Associates, CommLab India, Altify, Janek Performance Group, Mercuri International, Sandler Training, Richardson, RAIN Group,

Global Product-based Sales Training market 2020 forecast to 2025 market segment by regions, regional analysis covers: North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.), Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Market outlook by product types: Blended Training, Online Training, Instructor-Led Training,

Market outlook by applications: Consumer Goods, Automotive, BFSI

Industry Chain Analysis:

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Moreover, the examination study gives a far-reaching perspective on the overall global Product-based Sales Training market, offering market measurements and assessments for the sum from 2020 to 2025, remembering the previously mentioned factors. It investigates industry deals channel, merchants, brokers, vendors, research findings and conclusion, informative supplement and information. Market anticipation, by districts, type, and application has been given. The report highlights the command and drivers influencing the market.

Customization of the Report: This report can be customized to meet the clients requirements. Please connect with our sales team ([emailprotected]), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs. You can also get in touch with our executives on +1-201-465-4211 to share your research requirements.

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Product-based Sales Training Market 2020 Global Outlook ASLAN Training and Development, Carew International - 3rd Watch News

Keypoint Intelligence is pleased to announce the launch of a new study entitled U.S. Vertical Vision: An Analysis of Business Print Demand by Vertical Industry.

WEYMOUTH, Mass., June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --Keypoint Intelligence is pleased to announce the launch of a new study entitled U.S. Vertical Vision: An Analysis of Business Print Demand by Vertical Industry. This study will provide the printing industry with a better understanding of how the demand for printed products and communication services has changed since 2019 and how this will evolve through 2020.

"When it comes to the challenges that the printing industry faces, responding to the realities of 2020 sits at the top of the list," stated German Sacristan, Director of On Demand Services at Keypoint Intelligence. "Printers must understand how specific vertical industries will react to today's unique marketing and communication challenges, and how this will impact demand for various applications in order to develop effective strategies going forward."

Through this research, Keypoint Intelligence will provide insights for equipment manufacturers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), and print service providers. This comprehensive vertical market research study will offer the following benefits:

Equipment Manufacturers and ISVs:

Print Service Providers:

Participation methodology will include a web-based survey of 1,000 mid-sized and large enterprises with a target sample encompassing education, finance and banking, healthcare, hospitality and leisure, insurance, manufacturing, and retail. Respondents' responsibilities will involve overseeing or being engaged with the creation of one or more of the following types of documents: marketing collateral, direct mail, newsletters, flyers, catalogs, presentations, product specification collateral, trade show materials, signage, sales collateral, sales proposals, or promotional items (e.g., hats, t-shirts).

Companies that subscribe by June 23, 2020 are eligible to provide feedback to help develop the survey questions. For more information, please see our online presentation or contact sales@keypointintelligence.com.

About Keypoint Intelligence Keypoint Intelligence is a global data and market intelligence leader for the digital imaging industry. We employ over 125 professionals around the world who provide critical planning and go-to-market services, including in-depth market research, competitive intelligence, sales training, product testing, content creation, and customer engagement. For more information, contact Donna O'Malley at donna.omalley@keypointintelligence.com or +1 781.616.2116.

SOURCE Keypoint Intelligence

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Keypoint Intelligence Announces a New Vertical Industry Study for Surviving Today and Thriving on the Other Side of COVID-19 - Yahoo Finance

The SPN empowers customers with a diverse ecosystem of top technology and services partners

Snowflake, the cloud data platform, today announced the launch ofSnowflake Partner Network(SPN), a rich ecosystem of Technology and Services partners for customers to leverage in their adoption of Snowflakes single, integrated platform. With thousands of customers leveraging Snowflake Cloud Data Platform for their entire network of data, partners are pivotal for organizations to expand the value and reach of their data even farther. Partners are critical to the growth of Snowflake and the new Snowflake Partner Network offers tiered partner incentives. Snowflake started with a referral program for partners, and is now introducing Resale and MSP programs for Services Partners and a Snowflake Ready Technology Program for Technology Partners to expand their partner offering.

The SPN offers different tiers and benefits for Services and Technology partners. Services partners like Deloitte, Interworks, and Slalom can support Snowflake customers from migration to implementation so organizations can experience the full benefits of Snowflake for data management, data governance, data integration, data warehousing, business intelligence and analytics. Technology partners like Fivetran, Informatica, Matillion, Talend, and ThoughtSpot, empower Snowflake customers with the tools and resources to develop and deliver joint solutions for realizing the full benefits of the cloud data platforms ease-of-use, performance, reliability, and security.

Snowflake announced additional features and partner benefits including:

Hilary Feier, Managing Director, Data & Analytics at Slalom said: The new Snowflake Partner Network allows increased access to training and technical resources to help scale our Snowflake practice as well as enable different data use cases. This is allowing us to quickly deliver joint customer solutions as we migrate customers from legacy to the Snowflake cloud data platform and help our customers build a modern culture of data.

Behfar Jahanshahi, CEO at InterWorks said:The new Partner Portal gives us clear visibility into the data around our deals, access to enablement content and training and is quickly becoming the central one-stop-shop for all things Snowflake within our practice.

Frank Farrall, Principal and AI Ecosystems Leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP said: Were very excited to be collaborating with Snowflake and are impressed by how their innovations are redefining the market for data technology. We are seeing high interest from clients looking to adopt Snowflakes technology to maximize impact as they migrate their data to the cloud.

The new Snowflake Partner Network program makes partnering with Snowflake easy and enables partners to leverage their capability and expertise to deliver powerful data-driven business outcomes to our joint customers, said Colleen Kapase, Snowflakes VP Partners and Alliances. We are thrilled to launch these new programs to reward our partners for the growth theyve contributed to Snowflake and to deliver even more impact to customers.

Once a company is registered as a Snowflake Partner, anyone from the company can self-register for access to SPN Portal. Every Partner will have a Portal administrator who will have the ability to add, remove and manage users.Register as a Snowflake partner here. Stay up to date on the latest Snowflake Partner news with themonthly newsletter.

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Snowflake Launches Snowflake Partner Network to Expand Partner Offering and Commitment to the Ecosystem - Martechcube