#154 Suresh Kumar Tulluri: Is Your Roadmap Future Proof?

On this episode of Ecosystem Aces, Chip Rodgers is joined by Suresh Kumar Tulluri, VP & Global Head - Semiconductor Ecosystem Business Unit, HCL.

Suresh discussed future-proofing roadmaps to implement an ecosystem working model. Some of the specific topics addressed include:

• HCL's Philosophy in Ecosystem Partnering
• Extended Ecosystems
• Customization of Solutions as an Ecosystem Roadmap
• Aligning Customers with Future Technology
• Creating Joint Solutions

HCL's Philosophy in Ecosystem Partnering

At HCL, Suresh heads the Ecosystem Business Unit and is responsible for how HCL conducts business, creates value for customers, and accelerates technology adoption across all areas. In his past, Suresh has worked for various telecom companies, and while at Intel, he led global partnerships, including global system integrators, cloud majority, telecom edge, etc.

"We're looking at ecosystems to be the strategy for the next few years. What it means is investing in certain areas of partnership that would redefine the way we conduct our business," Suresh shared.

He shared that major cloud players and HCL's ISV partners–Red Hat and VMware offer great value to the industry, not just with their technology but their ecosystem models.

"Together, that's how we see the invention of a bigger ecosystem. This would also mean that technologies that are being created by us could be relooked from the future. That's what we take to our customers," Suresh said.

The diversity of ecosystems is also worth noting. In the past, each partner used to focus on a particular technology vertical. Now, most partners are spread across organizational functions.

Google's announcement that all of its enterprises would transition into 100% partner-attached models was the proof Suresh needed to share that “we’re in the era of ecosystems”.

Extended Ecosystems

The first thing HCL looks for in a partner is its technology roadmap, which should align with HCL's strategy. Next, they dive deep into the partner's solution and the differentiation they can create with their respective technologies.

"As much as we reimagine the solution and differentiate ourselves, we are going to look at that extended set of partners to be able to come and add much more value," Suresh said.

Customization of Solutions as an Ecosystem Roadmap

Another way of creating a partner roadmap is by knowing the range of customers and creating a horizontal strategy with not just one but multiple partners.

Today's market is a complex one. Customers might require certain tech stacks and components from your company's solutions – one customer may want a 100% cloud transition, while one may want a hybrid or multi-cloud model. Because of this, different layers of technology need to come together to provide the right solution for each partner.

A broader roadmap for your ecosystem with horizontal and vertical development will become essentia as your ecosystem expands. This will enable the ecosystem to adopt the best technology possible and offer maximum value to customers.

Aligning Customers with Future Technology

In the past, partners had a single product, but now, most large partners don't just provide technical expertise but also business innovations.

Furthermore, the market today is complex and ever-changing because of digital transformation. This is why HCL and its partners innovate continuously so that they can offer solutions to customers throughout their digital transformation journey.

Suresh gave the example of AUSTIN GIS.  While AUSTIN GIS has significant opportunities in the market, it all boils down to the need to deliver solutions not just as technology but also as a service. Their services could be anything from a per-store basis to fraud detection. And in trying to take the cost to the end-user level, it's important to look at the possibility that the end user may not always be a large enterprise but also a small store.

"There is a need for the enterprise to convert that whole technology solution into an OPEX model that will take them to franchisees. That's the only way the customers may be able to adopt," Suresh explained.

Doing this leads to increased customer satisfaction, better productivity, and better supply chain management within the ecosystem.

Creating Joint Solutions

As private networks with 5G become a reality with fast adoption worldwide, enterprises should rethink their model according to Suresh. In order to ride with the market evolution, the CSPs and enterprises will need to make major investments and innovate at various levels.

Similarly, specific CSP markets where segment routing over an IP6 solution would require an accelerator-based computation to look at when trying to migrate.  While this would give a two or even three-times increase in performance, this means a complete reimagining of the solutions–from doing tests to infrastructure changes.

The move could be risky, as companies must invent these new solutions with their next generation of products to tackle the new market.

Wrapping Up

Suresh Kumar has immense experience in the ecosystem sphere and believes in making an enterprise's roadmap future-proof.

Suresh’s advice to younger ecosystem professionals: Focus on every aspect of the roadmap, including the business side, instead of a single focus on technology. This is the future of the technology ecosystem–the combination of business innovation, industry, and collaboration.

To stay updated with Suresh's work at HCL and to know more about him, you can follow him on LinkedIn.

Links & Resources

• Learn more about how WorkSpan helps customers accelerate their ecosystem flywheel through Co-selling, Co-innovating, Co-investing, and Co-marketing.
• Subscribe to the Ecosystem Aces Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcast.
• Join the WorkSpan Community to engage with other partner ecosystem leaders on best practices, news, events, jobs, and other tips to advance your career in partnering.
• Find insightful articles on how to lead and get the most out of your partner ecosystem on the WorkSpan blog.
• Download the Best Practices Guide for Ecosystem Business Management
• Download the Ultimate Guide for Partner Incentives and Market Development Funds
• To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about modern partnering, he can be reached on Twitter, LinkedIn, or send Chip an email: chip@workspan.com

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