Lenovo’s Newest Recruit Bill Swales Shares Focus on Commercial NA Channel Sales
Plus, seven new products that Lenovo is readying for 2023.
January 24, 2023
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Among the many providers of data center infrastructure hardware that launched their first servers powered by Intel’s new 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processor line, Lenovo introduced 25 new systems. Among the servers that Lenovo launched include the ThinkSystem SR850 V3, a high-performance server built with a 4-socket 2U design. According to Lenovo, the SR850 V3 offers predictive failure analysis, light path diagnostics and embedded tamper detection. Lenovo also launched the ThinkSystem SD650 V3 and SD650-I V3 servers, which include the fifth generation of Lenovo Neptune Direct Water-Cooling technology. Lenovo claims the new servers can reduce power consumption by 40% without impacting performance.
Lenovo introduced hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions based on the new Intel 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors. The Lenovo V3 HX, MX and VX HCI are available with software from Microsoft, Nutanix and VMware. The solutions include Lenovo’s Open Cloud-Automation (LOC-A), which manages deployment, provisioning and administering container infrastructure. Lenovo claims LOC-A can accelerate deployments by 81% compared with standard IT methods.
Lenovo showcased its newest ThinkPad X1 laptops set for release in April that feature more recycled materials and software to provide better use of power. The new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 has a palm rest consisting of 90% recycled magnesium and a bottom cover with 55% recycled aluminum. Similarly, the new ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 features 90% recycled magnesium hybrid in the palm rest and bottom cover. The new ThinkPad X1s also will include updated Lenovo Commercial Vantage software that the company said will improve energy efficiency. Also, the company designed the new Lenovo View software to enhance video image quality. Lenovo said it also includes tools for collaboration, security and digital wellness.
Lenovo is bolstering this laptop’s hallmark twistable screen with a dual display. On one side of the new ThinkBook Plus, there is an OLED panel and an ink-based display on the other side. It is powered by Intel’s latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors and various GPUs, including NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4060. Among various options, Lenovo has added the ThinkBook Wireless Dock for ThinkBook 13x Gen 2.
Since acquiring Motorola’s phone business, Lenovo has kept the brands apart. But with the launch of the ThinkPhone by Motorola, this new device is more than just a branding move. The company designed the new Android phone to discover any user’s nearby ThinkPad, enabling the laptop to open any of the phone’s Android applications. Users can also move from a call or video meeting on one device to another without interruption. Lenovo officials are emphasizing the device’s security features including the company’s ThinkShield platform, which enables security policy management with four years of security updates.
In June, Lenovo will ship its latest dual-screen laptop has two 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED displays. The new Yoga Book 9i lets users spread images across both displays, or work on separate files simultaneously. Likewise, a user can view a video or participate in an online meeting on one screen while working on the other screen.
At last week’s National Retail Federation (NRF) show, Lenovo targeted merchants that want to offer contactless self-checkout with its new Scan-n-Go Kiosks. The kiosks are the latest addition to Lenovo’s Retail Solutions portfolio.
At last week’s National Retail Federation (NRF) show, Lenovo targeted merchants that want to offer contactless self-checkout with its new Scan-n-Go Kiosks. The kiosks are the latest addition to Lenovo’s Retail Solutions portfolio.
Lenovo’s Bill Swales
When VMware’s former Americas channel chief Bill Swales resurfaced at Lenovo last fall, he declined to specify his new role. Months after arriving, the veteran channel exec is now sharing how he fits into the Lenovo channel organization.
Lenovo tapped Swales to take over as VP of commercial sales for Lenovo’s North America region, a position that Marshae Mansfield previously held. Lenovo promoted Mansfield to VP of worldwide strategic accounts, though she continues to help Swales get up to speed.
In an interview with Channel Futures, Swales explained that he is supporting Rob Cato, Lenovo North America’s channel chief. “I will work very closely with Bill to get him engaged with our partners as we go after the corporate space,” Cato said. Both executives report to Vladimir Rozanovich, president of Lenovo North America.
Swales is an upbeat sales executive who has held various channel roles. Before VMware, Swales had worked in the channel sales organizations of AMD, Oracle, HPE and Seagate. Swales believes Lenovo has much to gain despite plummeting PC sales industrywide in recent months. Like the entire information technology industry, Lenovo faces a commercial and enterprise customer base now pulling back on IT spending.
Last fall, Rozanovich told Channel Futures how the Lenovo 360 channel program has resulted in PC-focused partners expanding into datacenter infrastructure. The program builds on the new One Lenovo framework that incentivizes partners to provide solutions from the company’s various businesses. Swales said he would help accelerate the One Lenovo strategy.
“That’s one of the charters that Vlad gave me, to be a clear communicator about our One Lenovo strategy in front of our customers,” Swales said. “It’s one voice with a consistent message that we’re not just a device company; we’re a company that can really help customers on their overall digital transformational journey.”
One Lenovo Reaches Maturity
According to Swales, One Lenovo has been in effect long enough that it has reached maturity. “We’ve done an enormous amount of cross-functional enablement and training with all of our selling capacity across the organization, where it’s now one community voice,” he said. “We’re starting to see a lot of our traditional client-based partners who are starting to expand into Lenovo’s infrastructure business, and it’s really exciting.”
In the commercial channel segment he oversees, Swales explained that customers with fewer than 1,000 seats but larger than SMBs. Swales emphasized that 90% of Lenovo’s commercial sales go through channel partners.
New Product Blitz
In the first few weeks of the new year, Lenovo has already launched dozens of datacenter solutions and client devices. On the client side, Lenovo kicked off the new year at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas by previewing several ThinkPad and Yoga PCs. Among them are the ThinkPad X1 laptop, ThinkBook Plus with a rotating display and a new dual-screen Yoga 9i laptop. Also, at CES, Lenovo launched its new ThinkPhone by Motorola, set for release in the coming months.
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Lenovo also rolled out 25 new data center infrastructure solutions, riding on the launch of Intel’s 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors.
In the slideshow above, we describe seven of the newest product lines set to arrive in the channel during the coming months.
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