Eric Torres, Pax8 to Help MSPs Become 'Operationally Mature'

Eric Torres, the newly appointed VP of channel at Pax8, hopes to educate channel partners to help them become "operationally mature."

Torres, the former VP of channel at ScalePad, will bring his 17 years of experience to the new role, with a focus on educating executives on technology products in hopes of helping MSPs and other companies understand the cloud commerce marketplace better.

Channel Futures got a chance to sit down with Torres to ask about the move to Pax8 and his plans at the company.

Pax8's Eric Torres

Channel Futures: What led to your decision to leave ScalePad and join Pax8?

Eric Torres: It was a decision that wasn't made lightly. I really enjoyed my time at ScalePad. I I believe in the product and the people there. But truly it was the chance to go back and and work with [Pax8 CVP of community and ecosystems] Rob Rae. I worked under him at Datto for many years, and when I left Datto for ScalePad, I always told him we'd get back together. The timing was just right, and it was a tough decision, but one that I absolutely could not turn down. So joining Pax8 just made complete sense, and I'm thrilled to be here.

CF: What are some initial plans you have for Pax8 and your role there so far?

ET: In true channel fashion, my first few days will be going to an event on the road rather than going to the office. But in speaking with Rob and working with him for years, our first steps will be continuing to evolve the event playbook that Rob has, and that I've replicated in my time at the my previous role. My goal is to evangelize the scale for the Pax8 brand, to educate the community on the marketplace and how it can be a powerful tool for partners. It's all about educating them on how we can help them grow their revenue, how we can help them with the the thing that's top of mind for everybody: reducing risk and and increasing the efficiencies that make MSPs more operationally mature.

Related:Pax8 Appoints Ex-ScalePad, Datto Exec to Key Channel Role

CF: Should partners expect to see you handling this education process yourself?

ET: There's definitely a learning curve for me, but I've seen Rob present and the team present about Pax8 plenty of times at events. My first few days at the company will mostly be consuming and understanding the value that Pax8 provides, and then sharing that with the community. There will be a ramp-up period for me in in learning everything and working with various teams to build out even more talk tracks and and presentation points, and getting up on stage and joining boardrooms to share the story.

CF: What are some of the trends among MSPs that have caught your curiosity lately?

ET: The risk factor of things that is absolutely top of mind for every MSP is, "How do we reduce the risks that are out there for ourselves as an MSP? Compliance is one issue that's on the mind of [many] companies. How do we make sure that the SMB market is secure? How do we make sure that MSPs have their own house in order and are secure? And then, you mix in the AI factor of it, that is what excites me the most, that being able to to to go to the Pax8 marketplace, uncover these new opportunities, using AI to to help streamline everything that is absolutely the future of everything that we're doing.