Valtech is a constantly changing company, and this often means there are opportunities to grow and expand the role of the individual. We found a good example of that in Valtech's London office.

When Natalie Gray began working for Valtech in August 2000, she came in as a Training Account Manager, working to sell and promote our training offer. However, that role quickly expanded into selling both training and consultancy services, which she now does full time specifically for the EDS account.

Now, acting as the EDS Account Manager in the UK, Natalie works closely with Casey Crellin, EDS Account Director in ensuring that Valtech sustains existing business and grows new business. It is Natalie's job to interface with the engagement managers heading up three of the current six individual projects that Valtech is performing for EDS to assess the opportunity and ensure the relevant commercials are in place for new business.

"My job, for instance, is to see if we can sell a JumpStart program or other relevant services, both training and consulting where appropriate," Natalie tells us. "Like Valtech, EDS changes all the time, so we are not only selling to them. We have to have a thorough understanding of the organisation, and the political aspects of it as well. In the UK alone, EDS employs around 17,000 people. That also makes it challenging, and it is a source of constant inspiration to me."

In addition to being the largest account in the UK, the Valtech-EDS relationship goes back a long time, and has developed into a partner-like relationship. "EDS widely acknowledges Valtech's leadership in Java technology and our capability to transfer knowledge and skills back into their organisation through our JumpStarts and Feeder Team Mentoring approach. We represent the so-called 'non-vendor-lock-in' that so many of our competitors do. This means that there is a clear message of respect and understanding of the value that Valtech brings to the table. When they believe that Valtech can take away some of their headaches, they are very happy to work with us," explains Natalie.

On her current tasks with EDS, Natalie says, "We are working on a partnership agreement with the EDS Department for Work and Pensions Account. This will see Valtech package up specific services, like HCI, Workflow, et cetera, and sell them back to EDS as value-added products. This approach will allow EDS to focus on their core business and to sell Valtech's services on to the end client. Valtech will be underpinning the services with skills transfer to ensure that EDS is able to take control at a suitable point in the future."

To further develop the EDS account, Natalie and the Valtech EDS team are also looking into non-government areas of EDS where Valtech can contribute. "I am working on these at present, like EDS' CRM Practice, and have a number of interesting opportunities that I am hoping to close within the next few months," Natalie reports.