Pros
Two years ago, SolarWinds, under KBT's leadership, had a unique sales model that successfully reached a wide range of customers and was well-received by IT professionals due to its simplicity, power, and affordability.
Cons
Since SolarWinds became a well-established brand, the new CEO and their team from a small company have initiated a strategy that contradicts the company's growth trajectory. They have pushed all direct-to-customer business to their inefficient channel and distributors. While channel partnerships are crucial for sales, SolarWinds' mature products already have a strong market presence, making it easy to identify and pursue channel partner opportunities that would further enhance growth. Instead, the company's "Channel First" approach has made it difficult for employees to forecast their pipelines and manage their sales efforts effectively. Furthermore, the new management team, coming from a similar environment, is unprofessional, toxic, and has established questionable relationships with channel partners, further tarnishing the company's reputation.