The Channel Zone Podcast

The workforce is no longer made up only of people—and that fundamentally changes the cybersecurity perimeter. Neill Burton, VP of Channels and Alliances, International Markets at KnowBe4, joins The Channel Zone Podcast to explore how AI agents are reshaping cyber risk, managed services and the way technology is bought and sold. Drawing on a career spanning more than 40 years, Neill reflects on his...

Marketing has more data, technology and automation than ever before—but behind every signal, click and digital breadcrumb, there is still a human being. In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Tony Larks, founder of M7G Consulting and a technology marketing veteran with more than 35 years of experience. Tony reflects on his journey from reluctant salesperson to sales...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Guy March, Vice President of EMEA Channels at Tenable, for a wide-ranging conversation about relationships, cybersecurity and the changing role of the channel. Guy explains why the strongest professional relationships are often forged during difficult moments—not simply while celebrating successful deals—and why responsiveness,...

How do you transform a 50-year-old technology company without losing the qualities that made it successful? In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards speaks with Russell Brown, CEO of SCC UK, about simplifying a complex organisation, accelerating its move into high-value services and preparing customers for the next era of enterprise technology. Russell explains why simplification...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards speaks with Jay Epton, Senior Director for Global Resale and Distribution at Jamf. Drawing on more than 30 years in technology—including roles at Siebel, Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec and Adobe—Jay explains how Jamf is expanding its global partner ecosystem as Apple adoption continues to grow across the enterprise. He discusses what makes a g...

Bill Hopkinson returns to The Channel Zone Podcast for a conversation about the forces reshaping managed technology, sales and leadership. Now Director of Sales at Redsquid, Bill joins Mark Edwards to explore what AI actually means for businesses beyond the hype — from improving everyday productivity and customer QBRs to helping sales teams research, prepare, capture actions and maintain greater c...

AI might appear to live in the cloud, but behind every prompt, model and application is something much more physical: data centres, engineering, infrastructure — and a huge amount of power. In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards sits down with John O’Driscoll, Group CEO of Hanley Energy, to explore the extraordinary infrastructure boom being driven by AI. John takes us inside th...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Yogesh Patel, Chief Growth Officer at Maintel, to discuss his journey from an early career in finance to more than two decades in telecoms, technology and sales leadership. Yogesh explains what being a Chief Growth Officer really means — and why sustainable growth has to be about much more than simply winning new business. From...

Heather Harlos has spent her career helping technology companies build partner programmes that actually work—not just on paper, but in the real world. In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards sits down with Heather, Global VP of Programs & Enablement at Coro, to explore what it really takes to create successful partner ecosystems in today's rapidly changing technology landscap...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, I sit down with Tom Corrigan, Chief Revenue Officer at QBS Software, to explore how the technology channel has evolved over more than 30 years—and where it's heading next. Tom shares his journey from the early days of IBM through leadership roles at Avnet, Tech Data and Mimecast before joining one of Europe's fastest-growing software delivery businesses...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards speaks with Nick Hamilton, Founder and Managing Director of Inconnection, one of the IT channel’s best-known events agencies. Nick shares his journey from PGA golf professional to building an events business trusted by many of the biggest names in the technology channel. The conversation explores how events have evolved from simple hospital...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Jonathan Keighley, Chief Revenue Officer at SaleCycle, for a sharp and honest conversation about what really changes when you move from senior sales leadership into the CRO role. Jonny explains why the CRO job is far bigger than just carrying a sales number. He talks about shifting from pipeline obsession to revenue obsession,...

In this episode of the Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards speaks with Tess Garner, Senior Director of Global Channel and Alliances Marketing at Tenable, about how cybersecurity marketing, partner engagement, and demand generation have fundamentally changed in the post-COVID world. Tess shares how Tenable, as an exposure management company, works through a global partner ecosystem of alliances, dis...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, host Mark Edwards sits down with Steve Dawes, Chief Growth Officer at syclonX, for a conversation that spans nearly five decades of enterprise sales evolution. Steve shares insights from his early career at Mars, where discipline, structure, and relentless activity defined success—22 calls a day, strict processes, and constant accountability. From there...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards sits down with Donna Joyce, Public Sector Account Director at Okta (specialising in Auth0), to explore a career shaped by an unexpected beginning: elite three-day eventing. Donna shares what it was really like working as a groom for an Olympic rider—6am starts, half a day off per week, and two years with no pay—and how that environment hard...

Mark Edwards speaks with Shannon Muller, a Cybersecurity Specialist at Microsoft, about her 20-year journey through the evolution of cyber — from early antivirus days to today’s AI-driven security landscape. Shannon explains why she approaches customers as an advisor first, how the role of security leadership has changed, and what she’s learning through her Master’s in Cyber Law as regulation and...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Marcus Davidson, Director of Field Enablement at Mimecast, for a wide-ranging conversation on what great enablement really looks like—today, and in any era. Marcus unpacks why he prefers the term “talent enablement” (toolset, skillset, mindset) and shares the core idea that selling is less about “selling” and more about helping...

Work From Home Is Killing Opportunity (Return to Customers) In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Mark Sumner, CEO of Robertson Sumner and host of the Channel Chat podcast, to unpack how podcasting, community, and in-person relationships are shaping the UK channel. Mark shares the candid story behind Channel Chat — launched in 2019 as a business development tool, t...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Ed Renwick, Head of Strategic Service Provider Acquisition at Acronis—an experienced sales and partner leader whose career spans Oracle, Virgin Media, Exponential-e, and more. Mark and Ed reconnect (with a bit of humour to kick things off, including the origin story of Ed’s beard) before getting into what really matters: how pa...

In this episode of The Channel Zone Podcast, Mark Edwards is joined by Fiona McKenzie, CEO of digital marketing agency Revere (now part of MarketBridge), to unpack what “digital marketing” really means in the tech channel today—and why it’s become so complex. Fiona explains how messy the modern buyer journey has become: more channels, more content, bigger buying groups, and more cautious decision-...

In this episode of The Channel Zone, Mark Edwards is joined by Chris Neal of InfoScale.com, to explore how modern sales organisations actually learn, change, and improve. Drawing on a career spanning Novell, Symantec, Veritas, Blue Prism, Arctera, and now InfoScale.com, Chris shares practical, real-world insight into what effective enablement looks like today — and why traditional training models...

What makes someone walk away from a lifelong dream of becoming a barrister and instead build a standout career in tech sales? In this episode, Mark Edwards sits down with Alexandra Wilkinson, Sales Director for Microsoft. Alex shares how she went from a working-class, Northern, law graduate to leading major sales teams at Virgin Media, Vodafone, NTT and Microsoft – and why she believes her law deg...

In this episode, I’m joined by Simone Warren, Sales Director for Technology, Media & Telco at NCC Group, with a career spanning global names like Microsoft, BT, Siemens, Virgin Media, and Alibaba. Simone shares her journey from telesales to leading international sales teams, offering powerful lessons on: How clarity, research, and genuine customer focus remain timeless sales principles. The ev...

Performance, Points Boards & the Power of People — with Nick Martin In this episode of The Channel Zone, host Mark Edwards sits down with seasoned consultant Nick Martin to explore the evolution of sales, consulting, and collaboration in the tech world. From early career points boards to today’s AI-powered disruption, this candid conversation covers what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and...

In this episode, Mark Edwards sits down with Roy Ferrari, SAP GTM Lead at HCLTech, for a wide-ranging conversation on what it takes to build a billion-pound partnership in the modern enterprise tech landscape. Roy shares insights from the recent SAP Sapphire event in Madrid, the importance of face-to-face interaction in today’s digital-first world, and HCLTech’s evolution from a systems integrator...