Interview with: Sandy Carter, Vice President, Software Group Channels, IBM
Q. With the anticipated upswing in the market, where do you see the big opportunities in 2010?
While I don't have a crystal ball, I can tell you that if you take a look at history, you'll notice that technology has consistently created a path to economic recovery. I think this time around you'll see innovation coming from many different industries with technology as the common denominator.
The biggest opportunities have always existed for those organizations that prioritize technology as part of the overall business strategy and empower employees to take risks without fear of losing their jobs.
More specifically, I believe that the ubiquity of technology will create big opportunities across the board in industries such as travel and transportation, the environment, and healthcare, as you may have seen through IBM's Smarter Planet initiative.
Not limited to those industries I just mentioned, I also believe that technology will continue to affect change as an underlying IT function as well as an overarching business strategy. And those changes will help stimulate the global economy while positively influencing the way we work and live.
Q. You've recently taken on a new role as vice president of software group channels. Can you talk more about that role and what is means for IBM's software group partners like WebLayers and their customers?
This is an exciting time in my career and at IBM. My current role is in sales with responsibility for driving marketing efforts for the channel. The channel is a vibrant and growing community for IBM and being able to drive the efforts that enable our partners to succeed is an amazing challenge and opportunity.
With a formal education in math and computer science and an MBA in marketing from Harvard along with global marketing roles at IBM, this new position is a culmination of my formal education, work experience, social media expertise, and desire to continue to move the needle for IBM and its channel partners.
What this means for partners like WebLayers is that they can tap into IBM's world of technology and marketing expertise and brand recognition that complements and extends the value of WebLayers Center. For customers, WebLayers already provides a compelling standards-based governance offering that addresses the often overlooked -- yet much needed -- guidance throughout the software development life cycle.
The powerful combination of WebLayers and IBM provides customers with trusted and experienced resources that enable them to build and extend their IT investments in governance to mitigate risks and reduce and/or eliminate unnecessary and costly development mistakes. Of course, doing more with less has always been a priority but the recent economic shifts have heightened awareness for this.
Q. As infrastructures evolve to combine SOA, cloud and SaaS models, how do you see governance playing a role in the new hybrid IT environment?
As SOA, cloud and SaaS models create the new hybrid infrastructure, governance will continue to be a top priority for both IT and business decision makers.
Without governance to help guide the architecture, eliminate redundancies and streamline processes, companies will find themselves mid-way through a project only to have to retrace their steps leading to project delays and costly overruns. With governance as a critical first step in developing the IT strategy, organizations can practically eliminate these issues while ensuring that all stakeholders have that much needed transparency into the infrastructure and its affect on the business.
Q. As a career IBMer, you've seen first hand how technology has influenced the global economy over the past 20 years. What would you say has been the one technology innovation that has had the most profound impact on your day-to-day work?
That's an easy one for me! Social media! Social media does 3 major things for me! First, it provides me with a way to view what is happening that's hot out in the world. I can track trends, and perceptions that are happening and decide how that impacts my business and the businesses of my business partners. Secondly, this enables me to dialogue and brainstorm with those "outside my 4 walls." In the latest IBM CEO study of more than 1100 CEOs, CEOs view innovation and ideas to come more and more from outside of their corporations. And finally, social media enables me to network and form relationships. This is really important to me so that I can deepen my relationships with my clients and partners! (Tweet me at @twitter.com/sandy_carter)
Q. To provide our readers with a fuller picture of our ‘policy makers,' can you give us a glimpse into your life outside of IBM?
My outside passions revolve around 3 areas: developing countries, children and women. I spend my time with the UN focusing on developing countries and how we can assist them with IT. Focusing on children is a multifaced area! I just joined the Corporate Board of the International Child Art Foundation Board and am amazed at the creativity in children. In addition, I run a program called Awana every Friday for about 160 kids where we focus on fun and learning on what's important in life. Of course, all this includes 2 daughters who are now 9 and 11 and the apples of my eye! Finally, I am passionate around women in technology. As such I am on the WITI (Women in Technology International) Executive Advisory Council and run the Super Women's Group that supports 1000s of women in IBM growing as professional women and bettering the world to become a smarter planet!