Good Technology CEO Discusses M&A, EMM and Channel Partners

Good Technology CEO Christy Wyatt sat down with MSPmentor to describe recent enterprise mobility management (EMM) market trends, as well as where Good fits into the picture. In this exclusive interview Wyatt covered recent M&A activity, how Good views megavendors in the space, her first year as CEO and, most importantly, how Good will focus on the channel in 2014.

Good’s M&A activity is not constant

While Wyatt could not comment on potential IPO or exit strategies (the market is filled with recent moves) she did discuss her company’s own M&A strategy, noting that she does not consider Good’s strategy to be “constant activity.”

“It really has to be very much focused because it can also be a distraction for the customer,” she said, pointing to Good’s recent acquisition of BoxTone as an example of a strategic deal that benefits — rather than distracts — customers.

“What we’re most focused on right now is, as always, solving the customer problem,” she said. “Our customers are looking to scale.”

In order to accompany the needs of its customers, who have large deployments and a mix of technologies, Good continues to look at how it can “scale both organically and inorganically to give them the most robust set of tools to service those customer needs,” she said.

Megavendors are friends, not foes

As megavendors begin to take hold of the EMM space, independent vendors like Good and SOTI will witness more consolidation in their market — but Wyatt isn’t concerned.

“There isn’t anyone in the enterprise space who could not be talking about what their mobility strategy would be,” she said.

In fact, she said Good considers some of the larger players in the space as “potential partners and channels as opposed to competitors.”

“What works for us is that you have to have an eye not just on mobile all the time,” she said. “You also have to recognize that mobile is a part of the core enterprise fabric.”

On the flip side, though, Wyatt noted that “there’s a lot of value in being a pure-play enterprise mobility provider,” adding that customers work with Good “because we have such a long experience, and we have a pretty unique set of credentials around our knowledge and expertise in the space.”

“There’s absolutely value in us waking up every day thinking about enterprise mobility in our core portfolio and how we service our customer needs,” she said. “You also have to have the equal amount of investment and thought share going into how do I fit into the organization they already have.”

Wyatt’s first year in office

Good named Wyatt CEO a little over a year ago to leverage existing company investments in mobile management and lead Good through a competitive market. When Wyatt first joined Good, the company’s focus was on enterprise-grade mobility and how it connected with enterprise-grade security, something the company has always had, she said.

To do this, Wyatt said Good focused more on making mobility a “mission critical, always-on service” by investing in its customer care organization and business model, preparing its platform for highly scalable environments and driving the total cost of mobility down.

Another big focus of Good’s in 2013 was user experience — looking at how the company partnered with customers; how Good informed them of new products; and how customers could provide feedback to direct future products, she said.

“That whole customer lifecycle has been a huge area of focus for us,” she said.

Going into 2014, Good will continue to focus on a lot of the same innitiatives: scalability, driving down the total cost of ownership (TOC) and managing the entire customer lifecycle.

“My mantra has always been: When the customer tells you what they need, you should believe them,” she said. “You should take that to heart, take it back and think about it.”

She added that Good will also be focusing on application work in 2014, both around usability and driving its services-driven architecture throughout its applications.

Expect Good to grow its channel 2014

Wyatt acknowledged that Good could have done a better job in the channel during 2013, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t channel savvy.

By mid-2013, Good started waking up to the larger channel opportunity — especially in North America. Good’s recent partnership with technology distributor Tech Data (TECD) shows that commitment to channel growth.

“Tech Data has really been looking for strategic partners for their enterprise mobility business and so the two companies just fit really well together,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm on both sides in sort of taking enterprise mobility out to a whole new segment of users that are absolutely having mobility programs within their organization today.”

Good will also focus on training and enablement, and how its team can work and sell with partners, Wyatt said.

“I don’t think of the channel as some abstract thing from the organization,” Wyatt said. “They really have to be working hand-in-hand with our team.”

“There’s just a massive amount of noise in this marketspace right now,” and Good has the knowledge and experience to assist channel partners with developing mobility programs for organizations, she said.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta for further updates on the story above.