Podcast with Greg Sarafin – Global Vice Chair Partner Ecosystem EY

Greg Sarafin, an experienced professional in the SaaS partnership ecosystem, shares his insights and experiences. Discussion covers various aspects of SaaS partnerships, including the roles, challenges, and future trends. Early Career and Partnerships: Greg highlights his extensive career, starting with engineering and moving into professional services and technology. He emphasizes the importance of understanding both the technical and business aspects of partnerships. Key Roles in Partnerships: A successful partnership head needs to be proficient in sales, account management, and technical knowledge. Greg stresses the importance of strategic thinking, change management, and aligning with the C-suite for successful partnerships. Challenges and Solutions: Partnerships often face challenges in measuring value and justifying costs. Greg suggests aligning with stakeholders, defining clear benefits, and measuring incremental benefits to justify partnership costs. GSI and SaaS Partnerships: For small SaaS companies, Greg advises focusing on proving value at the account level before scaling. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the GSI’s business model and ticket size to align expectations. Future Trends: Greg predicts a significant shift towards agentic technologies and touchless SaaS. He believes that SaaS companies need to pivot to agent-as-a-service models to stay relevant. GSIs will focus on helping clients build agentic workforces and navigate disruption. Conclusion: The podcast ends with a discussion on the future of GSI and SaaS partnerships, highlighting the need for adaptation and innovation in the face of technological advancements. This summary captures the essential points from the podcast, providing a comprehensive overview of Greg Sarafin’s insights and experiences in the SaaS partnership ecosystem.