IBM
Eric Schnatterly
Vice President IBM Systems for Cloud Platforms , Asia Pacific
For as long as I can remember , I have been fascinated by people ’ s ability to create art from a blank canvas ; to build a house from stacks of wood ; to sculpture a human figure from stone ; ... to create beauty from nothing . This passion for building and creating original pieces of art and objects of worth , put me on a path to becoming an IT executive with over 30 years of experience .
My love for art and design , led me to study architecture and facilities engineering at college . This led to an Internship at IBM ’ s Facilities Engineering department , ultimately leading to a job offer , upon graduation . While at IBM , I discovered new ways to feed my passion for creativity and design , but now extending to areas of high-technology . I became an evangelist for neat technology solutions and designs , leading to a position in sales . I had a real knack for helping clients visualize the “ art of the possible ” in the design of technology solutions that delivered tangible and positive outcomes . I also learned that I had a real knack for helping inspire large teams to do the same , leading to management and executive roles , in the Americas , Europe , and Asia .
The facts and figures may not be works of art to most , but I am proud that I helped create and then lead a team that delivered $ 1bn of revenue and significant market share gains . I am proud that I lead a business where we create value for our client ’ s every day .
Today , I am the leader of a passionate team of sellers and technical specialists , working hard every day to exceed our business metrics , but it all starts with CREATING technology solutions that we would proudly display in an art gallery .
“ When it comes to cloud services , I have many routes to market . I also have partners and alliances with other firms that provide hosting services . Some of my partners have global delivery centres , from which they provide cloud services to clients , using IBM provided infrastructure – systems , storage , and software . For example , TCS – a global systems integrator – provides cloud services using IBM mainframes , power systems and storage , to some of the largest clients in the world . Some of our ecosystem partners are local or regional managed service providers that address data sovereignty issues . This provides the trust and localisation that some people are looking for versus maybe a global , public cloud provider , with whom there is no established trust or relationship .
“ You see , my client may be a bank , who buys IBM systems and storage to install within their own private cloud , or my client may be the cloud service provider , who sells my infrastructure solutions as-a-service to the bank . I have to cater to all types of buyers – enterprises that choose to buy our systems and storage and
102 October 2017