Bill McMurray recently took up the managing director role at CA Technologies. ARN caught up with him to examine his plans for the company and the year ahead.
Patrick Budmar (PB): You have been in the MD role at CA Technologies for a couple of months now. How has the experience been for you?
CA Technologies A/NZ managing director, Bill McMurray (BM): It’s been terrific. I joined believing CA Technologies had considerable opportunities based on four foundation blocks: a blue chip customer base; extensive product portfolio; significant brand in the market and very talented people. After six months in the job, I’m really pleased that my thoughts have been completely validated, as we deal with most of the large organisations across A/NZ and have very positive relationships in almost all of them.
PB: What is the view from the helm of the A/NZ operation?
BM: In terms of product portfolio, there are several key areas where CA solutions are strong. While there is a recognisable brand, I see it getting stronger every single day through the actions of the company and our employees in the community, and in the support of our customers and partners. We have an extraordinary level of talent across the board and my focus has been on restructuring the go-to market model, as well as bringing in new leaders to harness the talent of the team in driving the business forward. I strongly believe CA Technologies has a substantial value proposition for both current and future customers, and our job is to ensure this value is delivered.
PB: What has been the highlight in your short time as managing director?
BM: There have been several highlights. Probably the greatest highlight for me is to have seen the deep commitment of every employee to the success and support of our customers. I have seen situations where our people have solved a customer problem that didn’t even originate from our products. Another would be the solidifying of my conviction that there are significant opportunities for CA in the market beyond where we are successful today. On a lighter note, attending all the parties and functions that come with the role is always a highlight. That said, they can be somewhat of a challenge on my calorie intake.
PB: What do you see as being the significant market trend for CA Technologies in 2012?
BM: From our perspective at CA Technologies, the well-documented issue of IT users looking to reduce costs continues to be a very significant trend. Cloud seems like the obvious choice, but with all the options out there, it can become challenging to know what to put where. Plus, even if Cloud seems like the answer, customers are concerned about performance level guarantees, security and how to manage these hybrid service delivery platforms. Whilst other vendors focus on managing infrastructure or applications, CA Technologies is in a unique position with its business service innovation approach. This allows our customers to rationalise their application portfolio and then assist with the decisions around costs, risk and performance when moving existing applications to the Clouds. Doing more with less is certainly a key market trend, so it’s something that we’re working closely with our customers on addressing.
PB: What growth plans does CA Technologies in Australia have in place for the near future?
BM: There’s a huge opportunity for CA Technologies in A/NZ, and as a result we’ve changed our go-to-market model to focus much more on financial services, telecommunications, state and federal government, as well as dramatically expanding our channel presence. This new model gives a good blend of focus on our large existing and future customers, as well as supporting efforts in the mid-market primarily through channels. Examples of this are the recent appointment of Westcon Group as a value-added distributor and new talent bolstering our channel team. We have enhanced our channel partner program and now provide additional benefits to partners who want to work with CA Technologies. In the coming months, there will be a continued focus on developing our channel business and working with the right partners to achieve new revenue streams for partners and CA Technologies.
