Partnerships Unraveled
The weekly podcast where we unravel the mysteries of partnerships and channel to help you become more successful.
Partnerships Unraveled
Didem Kindstrand - Navigating the Cisco–Splunk Partner Shift
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In this episode of Partnerships Unraveled, we sit down with Didem Kindstrand, EMEA North Channel Lead at Splunk, now part of Cisco. With nearly three decades of industry experience, Didem offers a candid look into how her team is navigating the operational and cultural shifts following Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk while preserving focus, maintaining team alignment, and empowering partners amidst uncertainty.
Channel professionals tuning in will learn how the phased integration approach between Cisco and Splunk is creating both urgency and opportunity across the ecosystem. Didem shares how she manages internal alignment through real-time communication, emphasizes the importance of Splunk's partner competencies within Cisco's 360 Partner Program, and leans on long-term partner relationships to weather organizational change. Whether you're facing your own company transformation or enabling partners through transitional periods, this episode offers both inspiration and tactical lessons.
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Welcome back to Partnerships Underworld, the podcast where we underweld the mysteries about channel and partnerships on a weekly basis. My name is Effe and I'm excited to introduce our special guest, Didam. Didam, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_01:I am perfect, thank you. I've been up early, came in to this meeting with a lot of energy after my morning gym session. So all good. How are you?
SPEAKER_00:I'm doing good as well. I went to a gym yesterday, so it always makes me more energized. Didam, for those who may not know you, could you give us a bit of an introduction of who you are, where you come from?
SPEAKER_01:Sure. So my name is Didem Schinstand. I lead the Imianort channel team at Splunk, now a formerly Cisco company. I live in Stockholm, Sweden, with three kids, four, if you count in the little flurry, fluffy one that came into our family during springtime, a little Daoshan called Coco. And yeah, I've been at Splunk for three and a half years.
SPEAKER_00:Well, thank you for the introduction, D Dem. We all know and heard about the uh Cisco Splunk uh integration. And I'm really curious, I want to dive a bit into this integration and how you've been navigating it because I feel like focus becomes everything uh with these kind of integrations because Cisco is a really large giant uh in the space and they have a lot of partners. And I can imagine that when this integration starts happening, a lot of partners showed interest in Splunk. How did you make sure that you were focused on the right partners and didn't uh stretch your resources too thinly?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's a that's a very interesting question to double down on, right? I think I mean with an integration, it comes uh uncertainty for a lot of people. Uh change is stressful. So, I mean, our first action was just to have a tighter flow of communication, to keep everyone in the team on board exactly about what changes and how. And I think also the fact that we have having a phased integration, it has really helped my team as well as the broader ecosystem. But I think, I mean, chat communities, you know, the always available type of approach as a leader to have everyone on board and that always-on kind of attitude to calm the organization down, that's really helpful in an integration scenario as I see it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and you mentioned that you know Cisco has much larger resources, they're a bigger company, and you said Splunk maybe has a fraction of that in terms of how big your team is. Did you have to make some uh changes in your team uh to make sure that you were focusing on the right things? But how did that transition look like for your team?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, something really interesting to happen is that a lot of partnerships that came along also our presence across the border. That actually helped my team to work closer together as a team because you had that group structure of partnerships coming in. So I think that's been very fun to work closer aligned as a team. And we've also been helping each other out in a much better way from a day-to-day perspective. Um yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You also mentioned that uh I think that the partners are already seeing Splunk and Cisco as a united brand, as a one team, even while the integration is still going on, not things are not finalized yet. But what do you think draw that early alignment? And how are you also ensuring that the Splunk identity and brand and the culture is also visible through the transition as well?
SPEAKER_01:So a couple of things. Um I mean, the huge interest that came along already before the acquisition actually occurred, at I would say already at the announcement, um that became like a natural path for us to connect. When I say us, I mean the Cisco, the Cisco partner team and the Splunk team. And so we came along pretty early, I would say, and and kind of worked alongside each other, helping each other out. Um and on top of that, it's been what I call the city season. A lot of acquisition has happened since the day of the announcement days. So a lot of our former Splunk boutique partners, as we call it, they are now part of big Cisco partners. So our family is kind of brought into this new set of partners coming along. But I think one thing we we're still operating as a business entity within Cisco. So we we keep on running our splunkiness stream, if if I can call it that. I mean, we're a pretty small team, and we also work across the the organization as what we call the village. So we keep on running our stream focused to keep the momentum going in in the midst of uh integration.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I can also imagine that for Splunk partners, they might have a lot of questions, maybe some uncertainties. I'm sure that you have to make sure that uh you're still there for them and make sure that everything is clear for them. What is something that you would want Splunk partners to hear from you right now as this integration is still underway?
SPEAKER_01:First of all, be curious, you know, get along on the Cisco train, the opportunities ahead of you. And I think what they should be very proud of is that they have something very valuable within their organization, and that's the Splunk competency. So utilize it, you know, take the momentum, create new partnerships with you and your team. Um, another thing is that everything that is valuable from a Splunk partner program perspective is also valuable in the new Cisco 360 partner program. So when it comes to that uncertainty about the partner tier, the the different eligibilities, Splunk has its own architecture in 360, which is more or less a lift and shift when it comes to what's valuable today versus January 25th when we go live in 360. And then protect your business. As always, your deal registrations are key. So keep your business protected and get the DRs in to protect your business.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think that last piece is also really important. I we've previously interviewed Jason and Elzabeth, who are the masterminds behind the Cisco 360 program, and I can watch that and they've done some amazing things. It was really impressive how much kind of partner feedback, how partner focused that they have been during that uh process. So uh yeah, I think all Splunk partners can be should be happy that you know they can also benefit from this very well-designed program. Didan, we also talked about believing in lifetime relationships. I feel like especially during integration like this, as I mentioned, things can be uncertain and trust becomes even more important. Now, how do you see those relationships, maybe internally, but also with partners, shaping success uh right now?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I've I've been in this industry almost three decades. That tells a little bit about my age. But when you have strong relationships, it it creates that trust, that trust and the trust in the communication itself. It also creates an opportunity or a situation where we we are just a phone call away. If there is something that feels strange or uncertain, you have that you know natural move of just picking up the phone and talk to each other. And I think that that the trust can come along with those relationships over time. So you feel that you have your extended family in a way. So it's so much easier to communicate and handle the time of change.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I fully agree with you. I think as I mentioned, I think trust is built in hard times, during challenging times. I feel like when things could go wrong and you're still there for your partners, I think it really builds trust over time. Because when things are easy, when things are doing when things are going well, it's not hard to be there for each other. But I think during these times you can really prove that uh we are there for our partners. Iram, you mentioned earlier that you know you woke up earlier today, you went to the gym. You you talked about this, that you lifting is a way that you reset yourself and also you're a certified personal trainer as well. I'm curious, how does that routine do you think help you also navigate these kind of tough periods as well? How does it affect your personal life or your professional life?
SPEAKER_01:I think that everybody should have a um a mojo to get the reset done. You know, how do you clear all that adult thoughts, the frustration, the stress out of your system? And that's what lifting heavy weights do for me. I mean, the interest came from a lifestyle change around seven years ago, where where I found this passion for putting my body through um through the the weight lifting uh motion. And I feel that do the undoable type of motion within my system when I add those extra weights. And and it gives you that energy, and you come out of there and and you feel I call it didness. It's just a state of of feeling within you. So yeah, I mean that's that's my way of resetting, you know, my personal stage, so to say, and get me ready, get me energized, uh, especially when I do it in the morning. I come back, I have my morning coffee, and then I'm ready for those back-to-back streams that come along during the day.
SPEAKER_00:I agree with what you said about you have to find your mojo because I really like going to the gym, but I usually don't recommend it to other people because not everyone likes it. But just find something that works for you. For me, that's also been uh the gym. Uh, but I think like everyone, I think it helps a lot to do something physical, something uh sports, whether you're a runner. We have a lot of runners here at Chen X, uh, whether you're lifting, whether you're doing any kind of other support, but I think it really helps you a lot to kind of be more mindful and calm, maybe during times of stress. I've also seen that help me a lot personally as well. Yan, before I let you go, I have one last question for you, which is we always ask our guests to recommend the next guest on the podcast. Who do you think we should have next?
SPEAKER_01:I think you should invite my manager, Alexandra Turbit. She's the group vice president of IMIA Channel and Alliances. She's navigating this integration, you know, also from a decision-making perspective. And I would say that she keeps the calm in the storm. She has that open door policy, even though you know she's a topic sec, you're always welcome to reach out and double down on questions and different scenarios. And I think she also, as a leader, makes me a better person. And that's a very so, and on top of that, she's a fantastic person. So I think that will be an interesting individual to sit down with.
SPEAKER_00:Amazing. I would love to talk to Alexandra more in detail about this integration. I think it's super interesting, and I'm sure that a lot of our audience has a lot of questions and wants to know more about as well. Well, thank you, Didn't, for joining us. And Alexandra, I'll make sure to reach out to you and see you in the next episode.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you, Effet, for having me.