Orla McGrath
Name: Orla McGrath
Role: Global Partner Solutions Lead, Microsoft UK
How would you summarise your company's channel philosophy?
At Microsoft, we believe that our partners are crucial to our ability to drive growth and innovation at scale. We are committed to providing the services, solutions and incentives to help them and our shared customers succeed, across every industry.
We support partners and enhance their customer relationships by creating opportunities for them to build devices and solutions on the strength and vision of Microsoft's technology, and collaborate with them on marketing, sales and co-sell motions. Together, we are shaping innovation and making a difference."
Tell us about your company's partner programme in 100 words or fewer…
Our partner network is at the core of how Microsoft UK creates customer relationships that are built on trust and provide a positive social impact. Together, we create solutions for all - leaving no one behind. Microsoft UK and its partners are working at the edge of innovation and have a history of delivering at scale. We are deeply invested in customer outcomes that ensure every organisation, across every sector, has the technology, the skills and the ecosystem in place that makes it ready for the future."
We're simplifying our partner programmes with solutions partner designations, anchored on the Microsoft Cloud in six solution areas aligned to how Microsoft goes to market
How many partners do you work with in the UK?
Microsoft supports - and is supported by - a partner ecosystem like no other in the UK and the partner network continues to grow. We now have over 33,000 businesses that are members of the Microsoft partner network. In fact it represents almost one per cent of all UK VAT registered companies, which is indicative of their broad reach.
For decades, our partners have been core to our success, how we deliver technologies, and core to driving the innovation and change that our customers expect, across every industry.
The scale of our ecosystem allows partners to benefit from complementary expertise, combine revenue streams and also presents a path to tap into new markets and drive international expansion and growth."
In which areas would you most like to see your partners invest over the next 12 months?
Every aspect of our lives now has a digital dimension and is underpinned by digital devices, intelligent cloud services and even artificial intelligence solutions. Computing has become ubiquitous in our lives and cloud services are high in demand - we now live in an era of intelligent cloud.
As the world and how we work continues to change rapidly, so too are the opportunities for Microsoft partners - whether they build and sell services, software solutions or devices, all are significant. With this backdrop of change, customers and their needs have shifted.
As a result, it's no longer us leading our customers on tech intensity and innovation. It's very much our customers directing us based on their emerging needs. Our goal now, and has always been, to make investments in our partner programmes to ensure Microsoft partners are in a position to drive innovation, profitable business and stay one step ahead of customer expectations."
How do you see vendor channel programmes and channel engagement models evolving over the next few years?
At Microsoft, we're committed to helping our partners succeed and achieve their goals. This includes simplifying and reducing the complexity of our offering, so it is easier for our partners to do business with us.
As a reflection of our continued commitment to partners, we announced key changes to the Microsoft Partner Network programmes earlier this year. Effective October 2022, the "Microsoft Partner Network" will become the "Microsoft Cloud Partner Program" and will cater for all partners in our ecosystem, whether they build and sell services, software solutions, or devices.
We're simplifying our partner programmes with solutions partner designations, anchored on the Microsoft Cloud in six solution areas aligned to how Microsoft goes to market. Such changes are being implemented to help our partners succeed.
Our ongoing investments in partners are designed to help expand partner capabilities to create value in the market, to connect with customers, and to win new business - growing our ability to provide innovative, customer-centric, trusted solutions."
My passion for travel led me to take flying lessons and qualify as a private pilot in my mid 20s
Tell us something about yourself most people won't know
Like many others, I love travelling, exploring new places and experiencing different cultures and so feel very lucky to have been able to live in many different countries and explore many more on vacation. My passion for travel led me to take flying lessons and qualify as a private pilot in my mid 20s and while my licence expired quite a while back, I have lots of cherished memories of flying a small plane around some amazing sights like the Grand Canyon and Mount Cook.