Account Technology Strategist

Overview

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.

The Strategic Account Technology Strategist (ATS) provides technology guidance to clients and orchestrates the interaction between clients and Microsoft resources to drive new opportunities, demand generation, market share, digital transformation, and the mapping of industry/business scenarios to Microsoft solutions. The ATS aks as the "Virtual CTO/Chief Digital Officer" or "go-to" person in established, long-term relationships with technical and/or business decision-makers at the Chief X Officer (CXO) level. Drives conversations with clients to present the strategic value of Microsoft solutions and acts as a trusted technology advisor both internally and externally. Gathers insights about client business and leverages existing architecture approaches to achieve Microsoft’s agreed commitments to clients.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 7+ years technical consulting, technical consultative selling, practice building, or related technical/sales/industry experience OR equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

Customer and Industry Insights

Synthesizes and combines various business and industry insights from their team, global best practices, proof points from experience/case studies with countries and/or regions, and deep industry expertise related to customers and their competitors to conduct forecasting and develop recommendations for managing accounts and subsidiary planning. Orchestrates global teams to gather information, collaborate on performance markers, and identify potential risks in customer accounts. Brings in business and industry insights to address the broader business challenges for the customer and deliver solutions.

Applies deep expertise and thought leadership to identify the right Industry priority solution (IPS) brought by partners and Microsoft to customers and industry partners within the customer's vertical industry. Articulates and understands specific industry-related market trends, as well as customer threats, opportunities, and barriers to growth as they relate to the customer's broader industry. Leads with industry knowledge to support customers in solving issues. Partners with customers and/or partners to provide innovative solutions in new industries, and to integrate Microsoft technology in their business.

Trusted Advisor

Leverages a strong knowledge of Microsoft's product landscape, solutions, and strategy to address customer's needs. Proactively coordinates with internal and external network of industry experts (e.g., industry-solutions executives, industry-specific partners) to build strong knowledge of the industry and the competitive landscape. Leverages deep understanding of their customers to share knowledge with virtual team and promote customer business perspectives.
Acts as the voice of the customer and internal advocate by providing insights, feedback, and challenges from the customer to internal teams (e.g., product groups, engineers) across all levels of the organization. Drives action to ensure that internal teams understand and respond to insights. Escalates pressing issues for customers to Microsoft internal stakeholders (e.g., Headquarters) to facilitate the appropriate solutions and capabilities for the customer.

Technology Strategy Formulation

Provides analysis of overall customer needs for some of the largest and most complex accounts, and advises on gaps that would benefit from Microsoft solutions, using an understanding of the business strategies and outcomes that technology can support. Leads the adoption of technologies by plotting the strategic, long-term vision of the customer's/partner's business strategy and drives action to bring to fruition. Acts as a strategic link between Microsoft and the customer for identifying a pathway for strategic efforts and resources necessary for building a strategy.
Contributes to the creation of trusted, long-term (e.g., three years plus) technical and business roadmaps for a strategic account based on a deep understanding of business and technology priorities and the customer's industry landscape. Drives envisioning and articulates business and program changes in the roadmaps around new and groundbreaking capabilities. Contributes to the translation of the customer's business objectives in conjunction with industry priority scenarios (ISPs), sales plays, and solution areas (including heavy workloads and cloud services) to develop effective Industry Technology Architecture to plan for and drive consumption and adoption of Microsoft cloud and a higher share of customer potential and propensity (CPP). ​

Technology Sales: Demand Generation and Orchestrtion

Develops and drives opportunities based on industry best practices. Presents opportunities to the customer and creates demand. Develops a plan, within a broader strategy, to identify and qualify a set number of opportunities for product sales, solutions sales, or consumption. Leverages multiple channels (e.g., social media) to create demand. Leads technical teams for driving opportunities including solution technology units (STUs), customer success units (CSUs), and others as necessary. Leads efforts to reach out to key stakeholders to give customer-driven pitches and drives the appropriate customer reach together with the account executive to generate new demands.
Lead industry and digital transformation acceleration (IDTA) with the account team, customer, and partner. Delivers the outcomes for the customer through joint envisioning, as a vehicle for industry priority scenarios (ISPs), sales plays and solution areas. Increases the number of successful engagements over time, managing engagement pipeline with extended team to maintain velocity, and unblocking issues.

Differentiated Value Proposition

Acts as the "virtual Chief Technical Officer (CTO)/Chief Digital Officer (CDO)" or "go-to" person in established, long-term relationships with technical decision makers (TDMs) and/or business decision makers (BDMs) at the Chief X Officer (CXO)-level. Develops extended relationships beyond core customers, advises on solutions, and aligns Microsoft capabilities with customer needs. Leads customer business transformations through digital transformation for assigned accounts to drive business outcomes and create business value for customers by understanding customer industry and position to provide guidance and to challenge customer thinking with innovative ideas that showcase the need for change and new strategic direction, and proactively involves corporate and cross-industry resources to drive customer transformation. Ensures line-of-business wins are captured (e.g., customer write-ups) as reference for scale.
Partners with a line-of-business leader or senior executive within a large-scale or high-impact customer organization to articulate how complex Microsoft technology/services will meet future business needs better than the competition and will enable the achievement of long-term growth and success. Leverages the full scope of Microsoft's digital technologies for offering varied solutions and services.

Mapping and Account Planning

Contributes to the creation of stakeholder maps for accounts, determines and orchestrates a coverage plan, and builds out an execution framework.
Orchestrates internal teams and partner ecosystem to ensure sufficient technical resources for demand generation, when appropriate. Contributes to global resource requirement availability, and understands how to allocate and create the appropriate resources for the project. Proactively bridges technology resources with the customer.
Establishes best practices and standards around account planning and review for aligning with quota attainment, consumption goals, and customer consumption gaps to inform quarterly and fiscal objectives. Coordinates highly complex extended account teams (e.g., spanning complex technologies, geographies, functions) and drives forecasting and tracking of the business. Owns the technical portion of the account plans and leads the account plan delivery for large, critical, and/or strategic accounts. Provides Account thought leadership inclusive of information technology (IT), industry, and business strategy knowledge, and shares best practices internally while providing coaching to subsidiary resources. Leverages account thought leadership in partnership with account executives to set strategy, own accountability for outcomes, and lead extended teams.

Education and Thought Leadership

Leads customer technology engagement by motivating and inspiring technical resources of customer, partner, and Microsoft towards customer’s digital transformation (DT). Delivers regular (e.g., quarterly, monthly) industry/technology engagements and/or briefings to customer Chief X Officers (CXOs), their technical team, and business decision makers (BDMs) to drive execution and focus on competitive advantage

Uses existing and new readiness resources and demonstrates expertise in creating enablement plans for large and high-stakes customers, and all-up Microsoft business. Drives innovations to help customers meet capacity and capability goals, maximize reach and impact and drive long-term engagement and thought leadership on the Microsoft platform, and influences large customers to see and adopt the strategic value. Drives customer skilling initiatives and execution along with the account executive (AE) and enterprise skilling initiative (ESI) teams

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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