IT News Africa had the pleasure of interviewing Werner Knoblich, Vice President & General Manager EMEA Red Hat, at the 2014 Red Hat Forum in Johannesburg South Africa.
In the interview, Knoblich discusses how open source technology plays a key role in the development of emerging trends, as well as helps businesses get the best out of their technology. Additionally, he covers how Linux containers facilitate a flexible way to build and deploy applications while reducing the time and expenses associated with underlying Cloud technology.
Knoblich also revealed future plans for Red Hat as well as gave details on Red Hat’s latest acquisitions.
Werner Knoblich is responsible for developing and implementing Red Hat’s business strategy in EMEA. He has full P&L responsibility with a primary focus on sales, marketing and services. His goals for the region include exceeding sales targets, developing and implementing an effective go-to-market strategy, strengthening demand generation and field marketing capability, improving operational efficiency and creating a customer centric culture.
Knoblich joined Red Hat in May 2003 as Head of Sales for Northern Europe. In 2004 he took over responsibility for sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and in March 2005 was made Vice President and General Manager for Red Hat in the EMEA region. Since May 2003, he has continuously grown the organisation’s quarterly run rate in the EMEA region always achieving a growth rate that exceeds the company’s overall growth.
Prior to joining Red Hat Knoblich spent over 6 years working for MainControl and MRO in the USA, both companies in the IT Asset Management sector. Knoblich began his career working in sales for USU Softwarehaus in Germany.
Video interview conducted by: Darryl Linington
