Q&A with Gareth Marks, Director of Business Development for Nectari.
Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about Nectari?
For those who may not know already, Nectari is the company that developed and owns Sage Enterprise Intelligence software. Established in 1992, Nectari provides innovative Business Intelligence (BI) solutions for Sage Intacct and Sage X3. Supported by a dedicated, professional and experienced team, we work with business partners worldwide to complement, enrich and extend the capabilities of Sage platforms to deliver optimal value and intelligence to customers.
What is your role at Nectari?
I am the Director of Business Development in the UK and AAMEA, which involves managing partnerships and driving sales through business partners in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the UK.
That sounds like an exciting role – what were you doing prior to this position Gareth?
My previous role was with Sage in Africa where I was in sales working with partners in that region, before which I consulted for another company after graduating from the University of Johannesburg. My knowledge, expertise and experience are very much grounded in Sage, and it’s incredibly exciting to be part of the Sage journey and work with so many partners driving digital transformation and evolution across their respective regions and markets.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I cover a number of regions across the world which means a typical day for me will involve working in numerous time zones, managing sales and marketing partnerships to ensure that our partners represent SEI/Nectari in the best way possible. This includes a focus on training, marketing and supporting new opportunities.
In parallel, product development of SEI/Nectari is pivotal to my role. I spend a large proportion of my time understanding the way in which customers are using SEI/Nectari, gathering feedback to channel back into our product roadmap. Ongoing customer feedback and support is pivotal to my role, as is coffee, since the hours can be long when working across time zones spanning 24 hours!
We’ve worked with Percipient for around seven years, and I have to say that Percipient represents a bit of a blueprint for our partner model.
What would you say is your biggest challenge currently?
The sheer volume of business partners I manage is a challenge in itself. Nectari currently works with over 270 different partners, 110 of which I manage. All of these partners vary in structure, culture, market and customer base. Launching product updates across the network, while managing expectations, requires a cohesive approach that factors in the nuances across different markets. Different regions have different legislative frameworks and languages, therefore, ensuring that training and support for SEI is aligned with those differences is crucial.
What’s your relationship with Percipient and how long have you been working together?
We’ve worked with Percipient for around seven years, and I have to say that Percipient represents a bit of a blueprint for our partner model.
As I mentioned earlier, a major part of my role is to ensure that our partners represent SEI/Nectari in the best possible way, and Percipient really does lead the way in this area. They have designed an optimal approach, invested in training, acquired the right skills and consistently work with the latest version to ensure the very best capabilities and consultancy for their customers.
They built a strong SEI/Nectari practice and as a result of our strong partnership, they have a world-class proposition which allows their customers to get the most value from their Sage deployments.
What would you say is your greatest achievement in your current role?
When it comes to customers, a Percipient customer operating in the food industry, Gourmet Burgers to be precise, is a great testament to our partnership. Following a recent deployment, they are now able to create detailed, flexible reports at the touch of a button, allowing users to access a wealth of data in a contextualised, timely manner. As well as saving inordinate amounts of time, the company can now view meaningful, contextualised information, in the same format, on a daily basis to contrast different countries and analysis, allowing them to remain on the front foot consistently.
Globally, winning Sage’s ISV partner of the year in Africa was a particularly proud moment for me personally. Against a challenging market backdrop which saw increased competition for market share emerge a few years back, we launched a campaign to consolidate and build our market position in the region, and the campaign was hugely successful.
Generally speaking, what are the most common BI trends you’re seeing currently, and are you seeing increased demand for BI this year?
The last few years have seen huge volatility across markets, and as this volatility seems destined to represent the norm going forward, organisations are having to evolve, adapt and embrace digital transformation. The role we play is around harnessing insights from which to improve collaboration, expedite and inform decision-making, and facilitate full visibility. Without a comprehensive view of the entire business, including all entities and divisions globally, it’s difficult to plan properly. Past performance can only go so far in predicting future performance, making intelligence absolutely crucial in today’s markets.
While AI is yet to make its mark fully, largely because of cost and cultural barriers, we are seeing more and more of a shift towards predictive analytics as organisations see the value of BI and the pivotal role it plays in ensuring resilience and agility in planning. For many, getting the right foundation is still a work in progress, and it’s only through driving the consolidation, connectivity and collaboration from which to inform holistic planning, that future technologies can be capitalised on effectively.
Contact Percipient
If you would like to know more about Percipient and our work with Nectari, or if you’d like to discuss the benefits of Sage for your business, get in touch or call us on 01606 871332.
