Microsoft Creates New Channel Partner Organization, Headed By Former EMEA President
Ralph Haupter will take over the new Small, Medium Enterprises and Channel organization as president Feb. 1.
Microsoft has unveiled a new partner organization headed by its former president of the vendor’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa business and a day after its CFO highlighted challenges in the partner sales motion affecting Azure sales growth.
Ralph Haupter will take over the new Small, Medium Enterprises and Channel organization as president Feb. 1, according to a LinkedIn post Thursday. Samer Abu-Ltaif, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s business in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, succeeds Haupter as EMEA president.
It was not immediately clear how the new organization fits with the Global Partner Solutions organization headed by Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Chief Partner Officer Nicole Dezen.
New Microsoft Organization
CRN has reached out to Microsoft, Haupter and Dezen for comment.
Haupter said in his LinkedIn post Thursday that his goal “is to ensure that all of our customers, regardless of the size of their enterprises, can leverage and derive value from the substantial benefits of AI.”
He has been with Microsoft for about 20 years, starting with a focus on EMEA distributors. Haupter then led Western Europe’s Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Group before overseeing all business in Germany, China and Asia.
“Having had the privilege of leading our EMEA business for the past five years—a period marked by unprecedented innovation and customer impact—this transition is an exciting time for me both professionally and personally,” Haupter said. “I am excited to apply my global perspective and institutional knowledge to lead our SME&C team.”
Abu-Ltaif, now EMEA president, will oversee business spanning more than 120 countries, according to Microsoft. His resume includes more than 20 years with Microsoft, according to Abu-Ltaif’s LinkedIn account.
“Under his leadership, we deepened our partnerships with strategic service providers, expanded our regional footprint, and delivered enhanced value to customers and partners across three continents,” Haupter said. “We are fortunate to have such exceptional and versatile leaders to guide our next phase of growth.”
In a blog post, Microsoft said Haupter “has been a driving force behind Microsoft’s success in EMEA and will now bring his strategic acumen and customer-first mindset to a global stage.”
“This comes as small and medium-sized businesses, vital to many economies worldwide, seek to boost productivity with the latest AI innovations,” according to the vendor.
In a blog post, Microsoft said Abu-Ltaif “has a track record of accelerating the innovation agenda of customers and establishing unconventional partnerships in countries across three continents.”
The vendor said he has initiated skills development programs, launched Microsoft’s first data center on the African continent in South Africa and launched data centers in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Poland.
Abu-Ltaif has worked on the recently unveiled Global Engineering Development Center in the UAE, planned data center regions in Greece and Saudi Arabia and the upcoming data center region in Kenya. He was a force in Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi’s G42, which is a partner in the Kenya data center region.
Microsoft Second-Quarter Challenges
During Microsoft’s second fiscal quarter earnings call Wednesday, CFO Amy Hood said that Azure only grew 31 percent year over year—the low end of the vendor’s forecast—and that the vendor expects continued issues into the second half of the fiscal year.
Hood cited “go-to-market execution challenges” with “customers we reach through partners and through more indirect methods of selling.”
She attributed the challenges to the time it took to implement changes made in the summer— Microsoft’s fiscal year started July 1—around balancing AI work with “migrations and other fundamentals.”
“As you do that, you learn with your customers and with your partners on sort of getting that balance right between where to put our investments, where to put the marketing dollars, and importantly, where to put people in terms of coverage and being able to help customers make those transitions,” she said.
Hood told analysts on the call that Microsoft is “going to make some adjustments to make sure we are in balance because when you make those changes in the summer, by the time it works its way through the system, you can see the impacts and whether you have that balance right.”
Although “the teams are working through that” and are “already making adjustments,” Hood said to expect “impact” through the second half of Microsoft’s fiscal year.
