Rising Star Partner of the Year 2022
Affinity Blue’s been named Rising Star of the Year at the Aruba Partner Awards, as well as being nominated for Silver Partner of the Year – only 18 months after launch. How did the company get here so quickly, and what’s next? Simon, Neon, and Keerthi from the team share their thoughts.
Why do you think Affinity Blue’s done so well with Aruba?
Simon: We share similar values and goals. Aruba’s been very clear in their awards program that they’re not just rewarding whoever sells the most kit. They’re more interested in how well partners are meeting the needs of customers and investing in skills to deliver Aruba’s solutions as effectively as possible. That sort of customer-centric approach has been top-of-mind for me and Neon ever since we founded Affinity Blue as well.
Neon: Investment in skills has played a major part. We are constantly training to be “best of the best” with Aruba, acquiring new certifications and broadening our knowledge base of how to best use the product. When you join Affinity Blue, you also commit to constant training and learning for Aruba as a non-negotiable part of the job. And I think that has helped us achieve solid results even with a relatively small team.
How does Affinity Blue make sure customer-centricity isn’t just an empty promise?
Keerthi: You need the courage to be transparent. It takes courage to call things the way they are, to acknowledge when things go wrong, but also to stand firm when you’re confident that your approach is the right one. From what I’ve seen, customers respect that transparency a lot and it inspires them to trust us.
Simon: At Affinity, we’re clear that we will walk away from an opportunity if we can’t deliver the right solution if it’s not our area of proficiency. We want to solve problems, not create more of them. And that’s something we share with Aruba. The account managers whom we work with aren’t just trying to hit the target, they’re solving customer challenges and helping grow businesses. Like us, they’re also very clear about what they will and won’t do in terms of technical solutions and areas of expertise. That alignment in values and practice has certainly helped us do well together.
What sorts of customer challenges has Affinity Blue been solving with Aruba?
Neon: A lot of managed service providers come to us looking for Wi-Fi expertise that they don’t have in-house. We work with them as an extension of their business: our technical capabilities extend theirs. And as a result, they’re able to pursue much bigger, end-to-end projects where they would’ve otherwise struggled to meet the wireless requirements.
Supply chain challenges have affected a lot of our customers this year, which has meant finding ways to meet non-negotiable deadlines and go-live dates without easy access to supply. Sometimes this isn’t possible but navigating these kinds of disruptive situations has been of great benefit to all sorts of businesses we work with.
Simon: Aruba has played a huge role in increasing our exposure to areas where Wi-Fi expertise is in short supply. Earlier in the year they helped introduce us to the Tasmania market, which is suffering from big shortages of technical talent. So now, a lot of much larger service providers are looking at ways they can leverage our skills for projects in Tasmania, where they previously couldn’t find people to fill the gap.
Finally – what’s next for Affinity Blue? How has this year’s win changed or reaffirmed your plans for the coming years?
Keerthi: To me, the awards reinforce the importance of our values like accountability for results and being passionate about growing our knowledge. It’s encouraging that our customers appreciate how we approach their challenges and objectives, even if it isn’t always easy. And it also reminds me to keep learning based on what our customers need.
Neon: We are going to increase our investment in training and learning, to be sure. This is a big part of our competitive advantage: being one of those partners who actually get our certifications and prove our skills. We want to support the brand that supports us, and Aruba has become one of our biggest advocates because of that.
Simon: I’d love to see us win Silver Partner. Even being nominated was a shock – to be considered in the same class as some incredibly well-established and proven partners is a real honor. It confirms that we’re on the right track as to our priorities and mindset, and to keep going but not grow complacent.
The worst thing that can happen is to let awards like these go to our heads. Doing what we say we’re going to do, and treating our customers and one another decently – that’s what success is all about.