Practice Lead – SASE

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW.

CDW – Integrated Security delivers a unified approach to addressing data risk through a unique combination of service offerings. CDW has brought together industry-leading expertise in cyber security, identity governance and access management, data privacy and analytics, internal audit, and hands-on training services, giving companies everything needed to plan and develop effective risk and security programs. By integrating these services, we provide our clients with the flexible support they need to protect and leverage data across any part of their organization. Simply put, CDW is the next generation of risk management.

The Solution Practice Lead role is a technical leadership role with broad responsibilities across the presales practice. This role works closely with cross-functional teams, including Research and Development, Service Delivery, Product and Partner Management and Sales Leadership to create and implement a comprehensive strategy for the Enterprise Networking team. The Solution Practice Lead is responsible for driving a variety of presales strategies and initiatives across multiple technologies and sales segments. This role is also engaged heavily in the selection, onboarding and mentoring of Solution Architects (SA) and Business Development Strategists (BDS) for the presales practice. This role supports solution architects with enablement and complex opportunity guidance.  The Solution Practice Lead is an industry-recognized, strategic thought leader that engages directly with manufacturer partner leadership, providing expertise and insight gained directly from our customers, influencing manufacturer solution development for new and emerging solutions and defining CDW’s technical go-to-market strategy.

Essential Responsibilities

• Proactively develop and execute presales strategy for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), support all sales segments and provide thought leadership across the Enterprise Networking practice.
• Proactively identify and solve issues that impact the strategic direction of CDW.
• Build strong relationships and joint go-to-market strategies with cross-functional teams such as Networking, Security, Data Center Solutions, R&D, Digital Velocity, Sales and external partners.
• Work with internal and external partner executives and other key stakeholders to influence change regarding industry and solution issues.
• Explore innovative technology trends and new solutions to ensure presales and post sales are successfully prepared to meet customer demand.
• Provide insight into emerging technical trends affecting CDW’s portfolio, regularly contributing to major industry publications.
• Regularly create forward-thinking, thought leadership deliverables (e.g., external monthly blog posts, internal technical strategy documents).
• Present at technology showcase events, at national industry or technology conferences and/or participates on Partner Technical Advisory Boards.  Presentation platforms include keynotes, breakout sessions, etc.
• Promote a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration by organizing knowledge bases, contributing regularly, and encouraging team members to contribute.
• Coach and mentor team members to improve their technical, consulting, and sales skills.
• Conduct technical assessment and expertise evaluations during candidate selection process.
• Assist managers with onboarding new Solution Architects, facilitate mentoring process, and proactively provide assistance and guidance to new hires to accelerate productivity.
• Provide technical leadership, enablement, and guidance to Solution Architects, peers, leaders, and other stakeholders within the organization.
• Serve as subject matter expert for the creation of new tools and processes for emerging and evolving technologies (e.g., cross-sell opportunities, technical enablement, services calculators, SOW templates, demonstration environments, sales collateral, customer presentations, assessments)
• Maintain and lead peer review process for complex proposals.
• Advise leadership, peers, architects, and sales in uniquely challenging customer scenarios.
• Facilitate best-practice sharing and communication between presales segments and regions (e.g., solution positioning, closing deals, enhanced profitability).

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Compu