Jamil King, director of the U.S. mobility channel for Panasonic Connect North America, sat down with Channel Insider to share how he and his team have improved the partner experience, what technologies and solutions he’s most excited about this year, and how ongoing economic uncertainties provide Panasonic Connect an opportunity to provide value to partners and customers.
King promises faster delivery, continued collaboration, and more efficient partner experience
King has spent over a decade in various channel roles and now leads the US mobility channel at Panasonic Connect. For King, his role is an opportunity to keep the focus on customer success by enabling the base of resellers, MSPs, and other partner types to put their best foot forward to clients.
“We’ve got a good number of partners, and they have a good number of customers,” said King. “I always say they need change rapidly but in pieces. We’ve got to be nimble and agile in how we support our partners in market.”
King also notes that Panasonic Connect has invested heavily in its own team, shifting and adding resources and deep expertise to better advise and serve partners across verticals and use cases. The team is also now equipped with internal infrastructure that provides more transparent data and more actionable insights into opportunities and potential challenges.
“We’ve gotten a lot better at what we’re doing,” King said. “Historically, I know our deal lifecycle could take a while. We want our projects to launch on time, we want to see implementation done on time. We’re more flexible and available to our partners than ever before, to help them in the eleventh hour when they need support the most to get their customers what they need.”
AI and more: how ISVs and tech partnerships fuel innovation
Panasonic Connect focuses on automating and powering the whole technology experience of customers to “connect everything we provide, from hardware and software to smart components and autonomous systems,” according to its site. Within the mobility channel, King highlights how his team ensures solutions work in practice to deliver results.
“A lot of times, the people evaluating technology aren’t the ones who actually have to use it out in the field,” King said. “We have a very hands-on sales team and people in the field who perform ride-alongs in key markets, like emergency services and the oil and gas industry, where we want to see how our customers ultimately use the tech we provide.”
The team also works with various ISVs, hyperscalers, and other technology companies to integrate solutions and provide the best outcome for customers in various industries.
For King, this presents a challenge and an opportunity. His team often focuses on ways to enable end customers through its partners, utilizing technology it supports in partnership but does not directly own or produce.
Take, for example, the explosion of interest in how AI adoption can drive efficiency gains. King offers the example of many oil and gas industry customers who, through partners, are utilizing business applications within various ecosystems paired with their Panasonic Connect solutions. This web of companies, technology, and resourcing requires collaboration and open communication from all parties to deliver on the ultimate goal: mutual customer success.
“Panasonic can’t do it alone. Our partners can’t do it alone, either,” said King. “We are constantly engaged with our partners across the board, including our industry relationships.”
To help partners, Panasonic Connect and the mobility team King oversees provide multiple education and enablement resources to ensure partners can best leverage market opportunities into closed business.
Additionally, the company offers its partners joint marketing campaigns and onsite, hands-on demos with technology partners so that resellers can see, feel, and understand the tech before selling and serving it to customers. All of this is geared towards better enabling partners to bring Panasonic Connect and its various industry partners to market efficiently to customers as tech adoption and advancement continues at lightning speed.
“In our space, you’re always either moving forwards or moving backwards. You’re never just standing still,” King said.
2025 outlook strong, even with some bumps expected in the road
King’s focus remains centered on the partner experience, and that experience might become more crucial than ever as some begin to view the rest of 2025 with a degree of uncertainty.
As Channel Insider has reported throughout the start of 2025, potential tariffs and federal staffing changes to CISA and other agencies might soon impact channel partners and their customers.
To King, questions about pricing, availability, and general attitudes customers might have about their tech investments are an opportunity for his team to deliver the advice, expertise, and collaboration its partners have long sought from vendor partners. After years of strong growth and experimentation during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, King says he is ready to be a trusted partner in the market.
“As long as we can stay in perspective, everything is an opportunity for something,” King said.
Partnerships are key in a crowded market. Learn more about how and why Dataiku and Deloitte have partnered to deliver data analytics modernization.