Strategic Account Technology Strategist

Overview

As the Strategic Account Technology Strategist, you will provide technology guidance to clients and orchestrate the interaction between clients and Microsoft resources to drive new opportunities, demand generation, digital transformation, and the mapping of industry/business scenarios to Microsoft solutions. You will act as the Technology Mentor for the customer or "go-to" person in established, long-term relationships with technical and/or business decision-makers at the Chief X Officer (CxO) level. Drive conversations with clients to present the strategic value of Microsoft solutions and act as a trusted technology advisor both internally and externally with technical and/or business decision-makers. Gather insights about client business and leverages existing architecture approaches to achieve Microsoft’s agreed commitments to clients. Leverage executive sponsorship, global resources, and lead the overall strategy development.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Qualifications

Previous experience in a similar role or technical consulting, technical consultative selling, business consulting, practice building, or related technical/sales experience. Experience in digital transformation, or using technology to drive customer business outcomes in a solution driven approach. Experience building and sustaining relationships with technical and/or business decision-makers at the Chief X Officer (CxO) level.

Responsibilities

Customer and Industry Insights

Generate business insights based on knowledge of the customer's technology landscape, engagement experience, and proactive collaboration with the customer, internal teams, and industry, to conduct forecasting and develop recommendations for managing accounts. Challenge customers to consider alternative business models to meet business and market needs, and adapt plans to insights. Orchestrate teams to gather information, collaborate on performance markers, and identify potential risks in customer accounts. Lead technical teams for driving opportunities with other teams, as necessary. Bring in business and industry insights to address the broader business challenges for the customer and deliver solutions. Apply expertise (deep expertise across few accounts or broad expertise across many accounts) in customer businesses. technology platforms, and maturity to build digital technology strategy with the customer that is aligned to business outcomes. Challenge customers’ assumptions with constructive dialogue about their business and technology. Leverage industry trends to gather insights and develop an informed perspective on similar issues that may occur within their industry/industries.

Trusted Advisor

Leverage account information technology (IT), industry, and business strategy to provide coaching to internal Microsoft teams on customer technology profiles and strategies. Provide technical guidance to internal teams to position technology while using customer landscape knowledge. Advise customer technical decision maker (TDM) and business decision maker (BDM) stakeholders on the benefits of embedding security throughout their technology landscape through the Microsoft Security and Zero Trust narratives. Establishe a sense of creating business value through implementing security and positions Microsoft's security credentials. Create follow-up opportunities and orchestrate appropriate technical teams from the Specialist Team Unit (STU) to pursue and close. Proactively build and maintain a broad knowledge of Microsoft's product landscape, solutions, and strategy in the industry of assigned accounts, as well as of the business priorities and potential threats the customers face. Leverage leaders from the partner ecosystem to bridge process gaps. Coordinate with internal industry experts (e.g., Regional Experts) to gather industry data of assigned accounts and leverages knowledge of competitors to improve planning. Demonstrate a strong understanding of the customer's business strategy and the direction of the industry. Act as the voice of the customer, industry, and internal advocate by providing insights, feedback, and challenges from the customer to internal teams (e.g., product groups, engineers).

Technology Strategy Formulation

Provide analysis of overall customer needs, outcomes, and potential blockers. Leverage understanding of business strategies and outcomes that technology can support to advise on gaps that would benefit from Microsoft solutions, and guide internal teams in overall strategy development (e.g., block identification, partner strategy) to identify and address gaps and drive end solutions. Ensure execution of technology strategy and/or digital transformation by identifying and resolving technical blockers that arise during strategy planning and implementation and driving technology adoption. Create mid- to long-term (e.g., 12 or more months) technology and business roadmaps for one or more accounts, to outline the digital transformation journey and core wins. Update and articulate business changes in the roadmaps around foundational, traditional capabilities. Build technical engagement or enablement plan, captures baseline, and drives envisioning to support mid- to long-term business plans. Discuss the strategy and plan with customer stakeholders. Translate an understanding of the customer's business objectives and scenarios in conjunction with Industry Sales Kits and Solution Plays to develop technology architecture. Ensure that developed architecture influences the cloud journey to position all Microsoft clouds and drive consumption, usage, and a higher share of customer potential and propensity (CPP).

Technology Sales: Demand Generation and Orchestration

Identify customer issues, create demand, and opportunities to uncover new solutions. Create and qualify a set number of opportunities for product sales, solution sales, or consumption. Leverage partners to drive demand generation and capitalize on opportunities. Orchestrate efforts to drive MCEM lifecycle and stage progression. Work within a broader strategy to lead efforts with technical teams for driving opportunities including Specialist Team Unit (STU), Customer Success Unit (CSU), and others, as necessary. Contribute to efforts to reach out to key stakeholders to give customer-driven pitches and drive the appropriate customer reach together with the account executive to generate new demand. Use technical knowledge of products to determine feasibility of technical customer requirements request and works with core engineering teams to prepare solutions. Lead Account Strategy Envisioning (ASE, formerly IDTA) with the extended account team, customer, and partner to deliver the outcomes for the customer through joint envisioning, as a vehicle for Industry Sales Kits and Solution Plays. Create new Stage 1 opportunities, both billed and consumed, with technical decision maker (TDM) customer stakeholders, managing consumption pipeline with extended team to maintain velocity, and unblocking issues. Introduce the customer to benefits of AI and Industrial Metaverse to create interest and excitement about Microsoft's capabilities and show them how Microsoft technologies can help accelerate their productivity as well as differentiate themselves in the market. Create follow-up opportunities and orchestrates appropriate technical teams from the Specialist Team Unit (STU) to pursue and close.

Differentiated Value Proposition

Act as the customer's Technology Mentor in established relationships with senior leaders including technical decision makers (TDMs) and/or Business Unit leaders at the CIO or CIO direct-report level by researching organization charts, identifying and contacting TDMs/BDMs, and beginning to advise on solutions and position Microsoft capabilities to best meet the customer's needs. Lead new opportunities and orchestrate internal teams to accelerate the customer business transformations through digital technologies by understanding the customer industry and position, engaging with customers to lead strategic technology direction/transformation within assigned accounts, and ensuring line-of-business wins are captured (e.g., testimonials) for referencing. Drive conversations with enterprise customers that present the strategic relationship between Microsoft technologies, products, and services compared with the competitor's solution and the customer's overall business goals and objectives. Provide an outside-in perspective around compete or other solutions that are also a requirement for the customer.

Mapping and Account Planning

Help customer technical specialists build the message to sell Microsoft offerings to other parts of their business. Create stakeholder maps for accounts, and determine, and orchestrate a coverage plan. Orchestrate internal teams and local partners (inclusive of global systems integrators and consultancy partners) to ensure sufficient technical resources for demand generation, when appropriate. Drive account planning for budgeting, quota attainment, consumption goals, and customer consumption gaps to inform quarterly and fiscal objectives. Coordinate extended account teams and drives forecasting and tracking of the business. Own the technical portion of the account plan and lead the customer plan delivery. 

Education and Thought Leadership

Influence customer technology engagement by engaging technical resources of customer, partner, and Microsoft towards customer’s business transformation. Contribute to the delivery of regular (e.g., quarterly, monthly) industry/technology briefings to customer technology decision-makers and technical teams. Use existing and new readiness resources to support enablement plans for customer technology adoption at the national and regional level. Contribute to innovations to accelerate meeting goals for customer capacity, maximize reach and impact, and drive long-term engagement and thought leadership on the Microsoft platform. Support customer skilling initiatives and execution. Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.Industry leading healthcareEducational resourcesDiscounts on products and servicesSavings and investmentsMaternity and paternity leaveGenerous time awayGiving programsOpportunities to network and connect

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