Mike Clayville
Mark Pretty interviews
Mike Clayville, Asia Pacific & Japan Vice President - Vmware
VMware is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software. The company has undergone explosive growth world-wide. The interview that follows, takes a look under the covers at how that explosive growth has manifested itself in Asia Pacific. It’s a candid discussion with the Vice President for VMWare in the region.
MP: “I’ve just called you in Queenstown, New Zealand…that must be one of the more distant outposts of your region?
MC: “Yes, and a good place for the management team to get together to catch our breath for some planning. I do sometimes feel that I spend more time in airport lounges than my office but that’s one of the features of
running this region for one of the fastest growing software companies that the industry has seen”
MP: “How did you go about learning how to do business in Asia and how have you adapted your style?”
MC: “In the end doing the right thing is mostly common sense. I’m not a great one for making major shifts in policy and attitude….it’s just about getting the right people on your team; people who have experience of success in each geography. I was happy to learn from them but it’s all about setting the right priorities and getting buy-in”
MP: “Can you give us a picture of the growth in VMWARE in your region since you took on the role?”
MC: “It’s been a pretty explosive time. That’s been exciting for everyone involved but it’s also meant that some things just haven’t been done along the way….we’ve been moving so fast. Since late 2004, we’ve gone from 18 people in 3 countries doing less than US$10 million in revenue to 15 offices with over 150 people driving US$80 million. By any measure that’s kept us busy.”
MP: “Which geographies did you focus on first and why?”
MC: “We started first in Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore. I think it’s really difficult to turn too many on all at once; in fact you can’t. We chose these due to early market adoption and the potential for some quick wins.
To an extent that was true, but we really didn’t get it right in Japan. They were very slow to take up the solution.”
MP: Australia seems to have been a consistent high performer for you, why is that?”
MC: “We’ve built a great business there and it constantly surprises me how much we drive out of a relatively small market. It’s really rocking – over 75% year-on-year growth. We hired a strong leadership team and their focus is so impressive and I know I can trust them. It might not be a very large market but it is an easy one to succeed in if you follow the same principles that apply in North America.”
MP: “What are the most striking differences for you between the US market and Asia Pacific for VMWARE?”
MC: “By far the biggest is the fragmented nature of the region. The US is a homogenous market; you can get a couple of larger wins and then reference them nationally. That doesn’t quite work in AP. You need to take each country on its own merit and build the plan and execute. None of the same “cookie-cutter” principles apply”
MP: “Have you had full support and understanding from your US management team and have you found they understand your region?”
MC: “I think there were some mismatches in the early days in terms of what could be done and how long it would take. There was an expectation that the uptake would be at the same rate as Europe or North America but that wasn’t ever going to happen. So, it was key to get everyone to relax the expectation as you can’t turn each geographical unit on at once. What really worked was getting enough market visibility early, doing a deep dive and backing it up with enough resource to support the sales effort. When we did that right, as we did in Australia, we had a great match of expectation and reality. We learned to do that and get the results before moving on to another geography.”
MP: “What three tips would you give a new company in the software space entering the APJ region?
MC: “First, to prioritise correctly. No point going for a market because it has scale but the clients aren’t ready for what you’re selling. Better to dive deep into a market where you really can gain quick wins and dominate the market. That worked for us in Australia and Singapore. Second, chose partners wisely and make sure that they will add value locally. At the start, we were so happy to find partners that wanted to sell for us that we rushed it all a bit. That was a mistake. We had a great relationship with one Global SI in Australia and they helped drive our business, but the same company was totally wrong when we tried to expand the relationship to Japan. One model doesn’t fit everywhere. Lastly, and perhaps most critically for VMWare, keep ahead of the game in terms of infrastructure and hiring. At times we’ve been too slow to capitalize on the opportunity and we’ve stretched ourselves by getting people on board too slowly. That’s what I’d try and change if I had the time again.”
This interview was conducted by Mark Pretty, an Asia based Director of Mosaic Global Executive Search
