The imminent departure of Bill Lipsin as #NetApp s vice president of global channels is not expected to change the storage vendor's channel focus, according to Lipsin and a couple of the company's top solution provider partners. NetApp last week said that Lipsin is planning to leave the company after more than two years of working as the company's top channel executive. No reason has been given for his Lipsin's pending departure, and a replacement has not yet been named.  Lipsin told CRN that he is leaving NetApp on very good terms, with August 18 expected to be his last day. "I'm still on the payroll," he said. [Related: NetApp Channel Executive Bill Lipsin Leaving The Company] Lipsin said concerns about his departure are unfounded, and that it would have as little impact on the channel as the March departure of Scott Strubel, former vice president of NetApp's Americas partner organization, did in March. The fact that the two will have left NetApp in the same year is coincidental, he said. "The channel results for NetApp are pretty positive," he said. "I suggest that all the efforts we have laid out will continue to bear fruit. You've seen management changes, but hopefully they're not impactful." Lipsin said his immediate plans would focus on taking a break to be with his family, and that he eventually expects to leverage his expertise and experience in consulting, as opposed to getting a new position with another company. "But for now, I'm just trying to figure my options for a vacation," he said. NetApp declined to provide more information on Lipsin's pending departure, citing a self-imposed quiet period before the company releases its quarterly results on August 16. NetApp channel partners said they expect no change in the company's channel programs or channel focus. There are no changes to the channel strategy expected, and things with the vendor look good, said Scott Miller, senior director of the data center business at World Wide Technology, a St. Louis-based solution provider and long-time NetApp channel partner. "From our perspective, things are going very well with NetApp," Miller told CRN. "NetApp is fully committed to the channel. Nothing I see makes me think this will change." Glenn Dekhayser, national data management practice lead at Red8, a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based solution provider and NetApp channel partner, told CRN he doesn't think there will be any changes at all because of Lipsin's departure. "NetApp started with the channel in 2000, when Leonard Iventosch made significant changes," Dekhayser said. "Then Julie Parrish took over. There were no changes in the channel. Then Bill came in. His job was not to fix what wasn't broken, and he did that well." NetApp's channel program is in great shape, Dekhayser said. "Even if the ship runs rudderless for a few months, the channel will still sell NetApp," he said. "The channel plays a key role for NetApp. NetApp can't survive without the channel. No vendor really could. But for NetApp, the channel is especially important because NetApp does not own the entire IT stack. It doesn’t sell the technology up and down the stack. Without the channel, NetApp can't be effective." Dekhayser said his statements should not be interpreted to mean NetApp's channel will not see changes at all. It certainly won't remain stagnant either, as the way customers consume storage is always changing thanks to the cloud and other factors. "But NetApp has always offered a constructive channel experience," he said. "It's a testament to the support from NetApp's leadership. Iventosch brought in big changes because he essentially created the channel. Parrish and Lipsin carried on with the existing programs."
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