Women of the Channel – Keys to success for channel partners in 2023

This week, CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, announced the highly respected Women of the Channel list for 2023. We are excited to share that a total of five Barracuda team members made this prestigious list!

These highly accomplished individuals come from diverse backgrounds and are well-versed in overcoming business hurdles. They exhibit genuine leadership and commitment, particularly when collaborating tirelessly with customers and partners to discover groundbreaking solutions and exceed their requirements. CRN celebrates these exceptional women for their expertise and vision.

Barracuda’s honorees are:

• Alli Oneal, Senior Channel Field Marketing Manager
• Jayne Haggard, Partner Success Manager, Training Program Manager
• Jenna Renaud, Director, National Accounts
• Kirsten Vogelsang, Partner Marketing Specialist
• Merium Khalid, Senior SOC Manager, Offensive Security

What's the key to success for channel partners in 2023?

We asked this group of strong leaders to provide advice for channel partners who are looking to achieve continued success. From putting security first, leveraging Barracuda’s portfolio, and focusing on creating thorough campaign strategies, here’s what they had to say:

“I think that the key to success for our channel partners in 2023 is to be present. After three years of so many virtual interactions, I think that it will be imperative in the coming year for us to continue getting out face-to-face with our shared customers and prospects. Relationships and trust are key in influencing buyer decisions and are best developed spending time together in person. I look forward to working with our partners to introduce meaningful programs and activities that get our teams out in-person and regularly in front of the audiences we are trying to reach.” — Alli Oneal, Senior Channel Field Marketing Manager

“Partners should continue to put security first. Not only is that where the opportunities are, it’s simply no longer an option not to have a security-first mindset if they want to be successful. Partners need to be thinking about (and deploying) multiple layers of security for customers of all sizes and across all vertical markets.” — Jayne Haggard, Partner Success Manager, Training Program Manager

“The key to success for our channel partners this year will be leveraging Barracuda’s award-winning product portfolio and making the most of Barracuda offerings as a one-stop-shop vendor to help grow and better secure their customers environments. Taking advantage of Barracuda’s relationships with both Microsoft and AWS and building out partner programs together will be a huge focus of ours in 2023, and making the most of these programs will be another key to success for our channel partners.” — Jenna Renaud, Director, National Accounts

“I have seen many campaigns in my day and the one thing I find happening most often is that the marketing activity/campaign is promoted and executed and then there is no post-campaign strategy to take those valuable leads/contacts/insights and turn them into opportunities. I believe this is the most pivotal part of any campaign. The key to success is building a strategy that includes pre- and post-campaign efforts following a tradeshow, webinar or eBook campaign, that are tactical and ensure that all the valuable time and money spent on driving leads, are maximized to their full potential.” — Kirsten Vogelsang, Partner Marketing Specialist

“I believe the key to success for all our partners in 2023 is taking steps to ensure both themselves and their customers are 24/7/365 from cyber threats. 2023 will no doubt be another year where many critical vulnerabilities, including ransomware and zero-day threats arise. Ensuring all security mechanisms are in place, including security awareness training, XRD and security monitoring will help protect their business and reputation from a breach.” — Merium Khalid, Senior SOC Manager, Offensive Security