Blog

A single pane of glass, what does it mean to you – and your Business?

In this world where data is considered king, it doesn’t really do you much good if you can’t make sense of it. We have all heard of solutions that promise a “Single Pane of Glass” interface. But does the term actually mean “pain” rather than “pane”?

That may seem like a silly question but hear me out. What comes to mind when you think of a single pane of glass (SPOG)? Most of you probably picture a dashboard. And that is the goal of solutions that tout a SPOG user interface.

A single pane view of what, exactly?

There is a lot of data out there and seeing it all at once is like drinking from a firehose. Also, attaining a single view of all the systems may be impossible or impractical in many situations. Some argue there is no such thing as a comprehensive single pane of glass in IT.

What you really want is a SPOG that provides exactly what you need to see, nothing more, nothing less. This dashboard should provide monitoring of a targeted service or system, a high degree of customization and the ability to quickly see actionable data. It should be intelligent, too.

Monitoring: Opening the window

A SPOG provides a window to your systems through a dashboard. Sounds straightforward, right? But companies are dealing with multiple sources of data. With a SPOG you no longer need a room full of specialists accessing and gathering data from multiple systems and then converting that content into spreadsheets.

The first step, and foundation of the SPOG, is to gather the required data into a single system.

Analytics: Getting the most out of what you see

The real value of a SPOG is in how it can provide more than just raw data. It’s all about automatically converting data into useful information.

A SPOG should deliver actionable information that drives profitability.

Customizing: Defining your view

To get the most value out of information, it should be easy to access and understand. A valuable SPOG will allow for configuration, flexibility, and ease of setup. It should also provide a means to define personas and specifically, what information those personas can view in the SPOG.

Challenge: Numerous Partner Portals

Leveraging Cisco incentives and promotions is a daunting task for sales operations, and finance managers. They need to stay current on up-front cost-based discount incentives and back-end rebate programs, as well employee certifications and specializations that affect their rebates. Cisco partners use time-consuming manual processes to piece together ever-changing qualification and compliance criteria from complicated data sources and vendor systems. Noncompliance can impact partner profitability significantly. For large companies, the impact can be in the millions of dollars.

SPOG: Incentive and Rebate Management

Few examples demonstrate the significant financial and operational efficiency benefits of a SPOG than a business, deal, and rebate and incentive management solution. Netformx ChannelXpert shows the power of a well-designed SPOG.

Netformx ChannelXpert automatically collects, aggregates, and correlates the latest data from many Cisco tools and combines it with distributor order data. Through sophisticated analytics, ChannelXpert turns that mass of data into timely business insights that mitigate risk, ensure rebate program compliance, and optimize profitability.

Success: Driving Customer Success Opportunities

Consider Cisco’s new Lifecycle Incentives program (LCI). LCI combines incentives and rewards partners for driving software use, adoption, and expansion. New software installations have different program requirements and rewards than expansions of existing footprints. And there are different sets of qualifying SKUs for each. It’s difficult for partners to stay on top of all these changes and identify LCI use opportunities early in the sales lifecycle.

SPOG: Staying on top of the Lifecycle

ChannelXpert provides a holistic view and portal into the business and insights on how to optimize that business—all on a single pane of glass. ChannelXpert is a business intelligence portal that provides at-a-glance the status of a multitude of rebates, expiring customer contracts and subscriptions, deal registrations and leads, and partner status and purchases. Want to see whether you’re over the minimum for a Lifecycle Incentive reward on an expansion deal? Just do a “what-if?” analysis. Want more details? Drilldowns are available, if desired.

ChannelXpert has all the features of a true single pane of glass. It consolidates data from many source systems and delivers quantifiable value by ensuring best use of front end and backend rebates through access to analytics and automated insights. The net result is a solution that helps drive higher margins through actionable insights using a single view without the pain.

What’s Next?

Interested in a clearer, single pane view when it comes to your Cisco business? Contact an expert at Netformx today for more information on how ChannelXpert can help drive more profit by aligning and optimizing your business with Cisco’s rebates, certification, and incentive programs.