It’s Women’s Month, and the spotlight is on Louise Taute, director of Comstor for Southern Africa and now the marketing director for Westcon-Comstor Sub-Saharan Africa.
Louise is well known in the IT industry as a dynamic leader, a guerrilla marketer and is in many cases synonymous with the Cisco and NetApp brands. We caught up with her to chat about how she has smashed the glass ceiling as a woman in IT, her new role in the company, and her thoughts on the channel’s future.
Q: You are no stranger to the role of marketing, but tell us when did you add the role of Marketing Director to your portfolio and how do you manage to juggle between two such demanding roles?
A: Our objective was for marketing and sales to work more closely together and, as a result, guide the marketing team to become more commercially aware. Marketing should always be seen as a sales enabler, and these teams need to clearly understand an organisation’s business and sales strategy and objectives. When this is in place, it better translates into commercially effective campaigns. We already have a hugely successful marketing and sales team, so this marriage between the roles aligns with our continued desire to up the ante and do even better.
When it comes to juggling the roles, the saying goes that you are only as successful as the team supporting you. At Westcon-Comstor, career development is a key focus area, and we have invested a lot of time and money in supporting and developing our teams. Therefore, I have a highly skilled management team that reports to me who takes the pressure off, making it possible to expand my portfolio.
Q: A lot has changed in the last year. How have these changes affected you as a person, and what impact has it had on your teams?
A: The changes we faced and are still facing are something none of us ever excepted or experienced before. At the start of the pandemic, we were in a fortunate position as a company to transition and deploy our teams to work a remote work model within a few days. In addition, Westcon-Comstor launched a comprehensive programme to support, educate and guide staff on how to manage working from home and the feeling of being isolated.
This helped me on a personal level and equipped me to support my team. As a leader, it is important to key an eye on your team, identify any behaviour changes, and be able to reach out and offer support where it is needed. Perhaps more important is constantly being aware of your own emotions, identifying fatigue and taking the necessary actions to take care of yourself.
Q: That said: do you believe there will be a long-lasting impact on how the channel operates and engages with customers and end-users?
A: The world will never be the same, but this isn’t a new idea as life is never constant and is forever changing. Sure, the pandemic did fast track remote working, e-commerce, and digital transformation, but conversely, it also halted significant infrastructure investments. We have seen a shift in that companies are now upgrading their infrastructure to address the increasing demand for effective and innovative data management.
This has prompted a need within the channel ecosystem whereby players are required to evolve their business to stay relevant and develop new revenue streams. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is not new to the industry, but how we manage and sell it is changing and needs to change.
For example, our Solution Lifecycle Management (SLM) offering acknowledges that we need to walk the full customer journey with our partners, even as a distributor. Sales is no longer a till receipt this a few items; we have developed our SLM model to help partners address the key lifecycle steps of a customer’s technology adoption, expansion, refresh and renewal. We do this by providing robust analytics, automation and expertise that equip and enable partners to take the right actions at the right time to maximise customer relationships and increase retention, expansion and advocacy in their installed base. This is the ultimate closed-loop approach to customer experience management.
Q: It is women’s month, and it would be remiss not to ask you a bit about your journey as a woman in the world of IT. Bearing in mind that you have been a leader in this space for some time. What initially, if any, were the main hurdles in your way?
A: I did not start with a clear career path; my career evolved as opportunities presented themselves. Like many women and mothers, I have at some point experienced the tug of war between being a great mother and a great employee. Sacrifices are part of life, and at times the ones close to you do get affected, but in the end, it has all managed to work out, and I can say I have enjoyed success in many aspects of my life.
Ultimately, the biggest hurdle in anyone’s life is your own mind and keeping a level head, staying motivated and focusing on your objectives. When these are in place, you will eventually get where you want to go, even if you had to take a few detours.
Q: A lot of emphasis is being placed on normalising the hiring of women – namely that gender shouldn’t matter. Do you think the industry is there yet? If so why and, if not, why not?
A: Personally, I do not think any industry is at that point, and the fact that we still need to ask the question proves the point. I absolutely support the need for equal rights in all things, but we must not lose ourselves in all wanting to be the same – let’s instead use that which make us different to our, our company’s, and our community’s benefit. Diversity and individuality are so crucial in all things.
Q: Westcon-Comstor has a diverse executive in Africa. How does that dynamic play out in the boardroom, and what is the secret behind it working so well?
A: Westcon-Comstor has a fantastic mix of executives and staff which is central to our success. As mentioned before, the Westcon-Comstor culture focuses on the employee, not just providing them with the right skills but also creating a stable work environment and supporting their mental health. We are a prime example of how diversity is a key element to success. We focus on inclusion and the celebration of each individual as a holistic human and employee while ensuring they are clear on their expectations through measurable objectives.
Q: A tech question. What verticals and technologies do you think the channel should be focussing their energies on in the near future?
SAAS, data management, and security. SaaS because the cloud is the future for everything, but this needs to be linked to a solution lifecycle management approach where the technologies you deliver to a client aren’t a drop and go. But rather form part of a long-tail relationship where you can provide customers visibility and oversight of their environments. SaaS solutions fail because there is simply no all-encompassing solution lifecycle management.
Data management because the world revolves around data, but it is still messy, disaggregated and difficult to manage. We will see a rise in accelerated and simplified data management and data automation which will then fuel the data analytics revolution we are seeing take hold.
Security because if the pandemic taught security officers anything, their security solutions need some work. But this also needs to be a holistic view of security. It must be baked into systems from the app through to the network and out to the edge and must help CSOs better manage risk, encourage and support operational efficiencies, and futureproof the business guarding against attacks.
Q: So, on a personal note, what makes Louise tick? What do you look for in the people you employ and what advice if anything would you hand off to a young person trying to crack this industry?
A: For me to give it my all, I must be able to believe in what I do, represent and sell, and for me, that is easy as I believe in Westcon-Comstor, Cisco, NetApp, and all of the vendors and partners that make up our business. I also honestly believe in our people, technologies and our strategic outlook.
Although we may use a person’s CV as the starting point to selecting potential candidates, I never base my decisions to hire a person on a CV alone. Attitude is the most important thing I look for in a new hire as I can skill anyone up on technology, systems, sales skills, etc., but I will never be able to change a person’s outlook and ambition in life. If you are hungry enough to want my position or focus even higher and are prepared to work for it – then you have the right DNA for Westcon-Comstor.
Spotlight on Louise
Coffee or tea? Both, coffee in the morning and tea the rest of the day.
Prosecco or champagne? For me, it’s about how it tastes and not the brand or what it costs.
Favourite food? I love a good lamb stew and a glass of red.
If you were allowed to travel, where would you be right now? Roadtrip – anywhere – just getting out to experience new places and people.
Are you binge-watching anything at the moment? Not big on binge-watching anything, but I love any “whodunit” movies or series.
A saying that you are known for in the office? I have a few; one is if you are not happy in your current situation, I may say, “you are not a tree – you can leave 😊”
One piece of wisdom you would like to leave behind? Pay it forward – that should be your legacy.