Solution Practice Lead - Enterprise Storageat CDW Careers

The Solution Practice Lead role is a technical leadership role with broad responsibilities across the presales practice. This role works closely with cross-functional teams, including Research and Development, Service Delivery, Product and Partner Management and Sales Leadership to create and implement a comprehensive strategy for the Hybrid Infrastructure storage pre-sales team. The Solution Practice Lead is responsible for driving a variety of presales strategies and initiatives across multiple technologies and sales segments. This role is also engaged heavily in the selection, onboarding and mentoring of Solution Architects (SA) and Business Development Strategists (BDS) for the presales practice. This role supports solution architects with enablement and complex opportunity guidance.  The Solution Practice Lead is an industry-recognized, strategic thought leader that engages directly with manufacturer partner leadership, providing expertise and insight gained directly from our customers, influencing manufacturer solution development for new and emerging solutions and defining CDW’s technical go-to-market strategy.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Proactively develop and execute presales strategy for Enterprise Storage Solutions, supporting all sales segments and provide thought leadership across the Converged Infrastructure practice
• Proactively identify and solve issues that impact the strategic direction of CDW
• Build strong relationships and joint go-to-market strategies with cross-functional teams such as Networking, Security, Converged Infrastructure, R&D, Digital Velocity, Sales and external partners
• Work with internal and external partner executives and other key stakeholders to influence change regarding industry and solution issues
• Explore innovative technology trends and new solutions to ensure presales and post sales are successfully prepared to meet customer demand
• Provide insight into emerging technical trends affecting CDW’s portfolio, regularly contributing to major industry publications
• Regularly create forward-thinking, thought leadership deliverables (e.g., external monthly blog posts, internal technical strategy documents)
• Present at technology showcase events, at national industry or technology conferences and/or participates on Partner Technical Advisory Boards.
• Presentation platforms includes keynotes, breakout sessions, etc.
• Promote a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration by organizing knowledge bases, contributing regularly, and encouraging team members to contribute
• Coach and mentor team members to improve their technical, consulting, and sales skills
• Conduct technical assessment and expertise evaluations during candidate selection process.
• Assist managers with onboarding new Solution Architects, facilitate mentoring process, and proactively provide assistance and guidance to new hires to accelerate productivity
• Provide technical leadership, enablement, and guidance to Solution Architects, peers, leaders and other stakeholders within the organization
• Serve as subject matter expert for the creation of new tools and processes for emerging and evolving technologies (e.g., cross-sell opportunities, technical enablement, services calculators, SOW templates, demonstration environments, sales collateral, customer presentations, assessments)
• Maintain and lead peer review process for complex proposals
• Advise leadership, peers, architects, and sales in uniquely challenging customer scenarios
• Facilitate best-practice sharing and communication between presales segments and regions (e.g., solution positioning, closing deals, enhanced profitability)

Education and/or Experience Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or equivalent experience
• Five-year minimum technical pre-sales or technical storage architecting experience
• Demonstrated subject matter expertise in enterprise storage products, including experience with multiple manufacturers and various storage protocols (Block, File, Object) and connectivity options including ethernet and fibre channel.

Required Qualifications

• Stay up to date on products, applications, technical service, market conditions, competitive activities, advertising, and promotional trends through the reading of pertinent literature, seminars, and online training
• History of successfully coordinating complex projects with multiple facets and stakeholders
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications
• Proven success and experience selling technologies solutions and services
• Knowledge and proven success of engaging and working with sales teams
• Ability to adapt and change to the business needs of the practice and team coverage model
• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills, including consulting skills, with the ability to effectively interact with stakeholders and various cross-functional teams as well as customers
• Effective communications skills both orally and written using a variety of styles and techniques appropriate to the audience
• Strong passion for learning and teaching others
• Motivated and self-starting
• Excellent analytical skills
• Demonstrated ability to understand data finding to draw conclusions and develop actionable recommendations
• Must be able to communicate effectively and in a constructive manner with management, peers and coworkers
• Proven ability to proactively collaborate and build relationships, take initiative, and creatively problem solve
• Ability to think creatively and come up with proactive ideas that will increase sales
• Ability and willingness to travel up 50% or as needed to other CDW locations, meeting and client sites
• Ability to understand, remember, and apply oral and/or written instructions or other information
• Ability to organize thoughts and ideas into understandable terminology.
• Ability to multi-task, organize and prioritize.
• Ability to apply common sense in performing job.
• Ability to understand and follow basic instructions and guidelines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Obtain and maintain relevant industry standard certifications (e.g. NetApp, Dell, HPE, Pure, etc.)
• Experience working in a fast-paced work environment