Episode 57: Square’s Pankaj Bengani on Non-Tech Companies Tapping Into the Tech Channel

Hardware and software companies such as Cisco, IBM, and Microsoft built the technology channel. They recruited and cultivated value-added resellers, systems integrators, and managed service providers to reach niche market segments, provide integration and customization services, and deliver maintenance and administrative services. Companies tapping into the technology channel today don’t necessarily look like Cisco and Microsoft. They don’t even look like Google and Amazon, but technology is so pervasive that every company is a technology company at some level. These new companies tapping the technology channel leverage cloud computing and software to deliver their services, and they’re discovering that they need the resources and capabilities of technology channel partners to meet customer needs and drive growth. Square, which provides sellers with software services to run and grow their businesses, is one such company. It’s launched a channel program to tap VARs, systems integrators, and digital agencies to help users connect its payment, point-of-sale, and payroll services to other systems and reach new customers and markets. Pankaj Bengani, the global partnerships lead at Square, joins Pod2112 to discuss how the company recognized its need for channel partners and how it plans to leverage partners’ technical capabilities to facilitate growth.