Peak 10 Channel Chief Lays Out 'Aggressive Goals' for Partner Program

Dave Sroka, Peak 10’s new channel chief, says partners will be pleased with the changes that are coming to the company’s Partner Alliance Program.

As vice president of channel sales, Sroka is in charge of leading the next high-growth phase of the partner program. He most recently was CoreSite’s vice president of agent and channel sales, and previously was with Level 3 Communications and Cologix.

Since January 2016, Peak 10 has expanded its operational capacity by more than 150,000 square feet at six different locations. It operates 16 data centers in key U.S. markets and serves a diverse range of customers in the United States and abroad.

In a Q&A with Channel Partners, Sroka provides a preview of what partners can expect from Peak 10 in the coming months.

Channel Partners: What is your assessment of Peak 10’s current channel strategy and channel program?

Dave Sroka: To date, Peak 10’s channel program has been wildly successful. We have established solid relationships in the partner community, with more than half of new Peak 10 customers coming to us from the channel.

CP: What are your plans for leading the next high-growth phase of Peak 10’s partner program?

DS: In 2017, we will be focused on further enhancing our commitment to the channel through strategic investments, and improved alignment between the channel and our direct teams. Peak 10’s partner program is an extremely vital arm of the business and we look forward to growing it this year.{ad}

CP: Will you be making changes to the partner program? If so, what will be the process for doing that?

DS: We are making several exciting changes to our partner program this year. We plan to firm up our process to make the program more predictable and repeatable. To accomplish that, we will be overlaying improved systems on the back end (our partner portal, for example) for a consistent partner experience.

In addition, we plan on increasing our support and alignment with our large, master-agent partners as they represent a tremendous opportunity to market to the greater partner base. We also plan to grow our channel team and expand the geographic locations of our partners, focusing on areas outside of Peak 10’s traditional geographic footprint.

CP: Have you received feedback yet from partners? What are they telling you? Are there things they like and don’t like about the current program?

DS: We continually receive great feedback from our partners. They like our people, products, competitive commissions and the experience their customers have with Peak 10. They’ve shared that they would like …

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… to see enhanced systems, tools and portals, which is already something that we are tackling.

CP: What do you plan to accomplish in your first six months to a year in this position?

DS: I have aggressive goals for 2017. We plan to double the size of our channel team by hiring new regional partner managers nationally to further our reach and continue to grow our partner community. Three of our six partner managers will be outside of our current footprint, in locations such as California, New York City and Chicago.{ad}

CP: What does Peak 10’s expanded operational capacity mean to partners?

Sroka: Peak 10 is in growth mode, which is great news for our partners. The expanded operational capacity means that we are actively adding new space that can accommodate the new customers our partners bring to the table.

I can confidently expand our partner program, knowing that Peak 10 has the infrastructure and capacity to support such aggressive channel growth.