Business Development Manager - Microsoft Cloud and AI

As a Cloud & AI Presales Consultant at SoftwareOne and Crayon, you will drive Cloud and AI transformation by shaping early conversations with senior stakeholders and guiding customers towards impactful solutions. You will proactively create demand and close business across net-new and existing accounts, leveraging your Azure and AI expertise to inspire clients and influence strategy. This role involves scoping opportunities, driving deal momentum, and translating business needs into pragmatic Azure solutions, including Azure core services, Azure OpenAI, data platforms, and Microsoft Fabric, to accelerate cloud and AI adoption.

Must Have

• Identify whitespace and build value hypotheses.
• Drive executive conversations and account penetration.
• Lead early discovery with senior stakeholders.
• Align solutions to measurable outcomes.
• Assess requirements, scope, and size opportunities.
• Define profitable margins with delivery teams.
• Stay current on industry trends and act as SME.
• Support solution design and proposals.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Azure services.
• Expertise in data platforms like Fabric, Synapse.
• Knowledge of Azure OpenAI capabilities.
• Understanding of cloud security best practices.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA).
• Proven ability to penetrate accounts and map stakeholders.
• Experience in value-led prospecting and winning engagements.
• Skilled in influencing and negotiating with C-suite.
• Strategic thinking and fast execution.
• Effective cross-team collaboration and communication.
• Track record of driving revenue and exceeding targets.

Why SoftwareOne?

SoftwareOne and Crayon have come together to form a global, AI-powered software and cloud solutions provider with a bold vision for the future. With a footprint in over 70 countries and a diverse team of 13,000+ professionals, we offer unparalleled opportunities for talent to grow, make an impact, and shape the future of technology. At the heart of our business is our people. We empower our teams to work across borders, innovate fearlessly, and continuously develop their skills through world-class learning and development programs. Whether you're passionate about cloud, software, data, AI, or building meaningful client relationships, you’ll find a place to thrive here. Join us and be part of a purpose-driven culture where your ideas matter, your growth is supported, and your career can go global.

The role

Are you excited by the challenge of shaping early conversations with senior stakeholders—turning whitespace into real opportunities—and guiding customers toward impactful Cloud and AI transformation?

Do you thrive at the intersection of technology and business, using your Azure and AI expertise to inspire clients, influence strategy, and drive high-value deals from discovery through to close?

As a Cloud & AI Presales Consultant, you’ll play a pivotal role in inspiring clients and evangelizing SoftwareOne’s capabilities. You’ll proactively create demand and close business across net-new and existing accounts, working alongside our Account Managers to open doors with senior stakeholders, shape early discovery, and build trusted relationships that turn white space into well-qualified pursuits. Working closely with our sales teams, and technical teams you’ll scope and size opportunities effectively and drive momentum across the deal cycle in a commercially targeted role.

Leveraging deep industry knowledge and broad technology expertise, you’ll help customers map strategy and translate business needs into pragmatic Azure solutions—spanning Azure core services, Azure OpenAI, data platforms, and Microsoft Fabric—to accelerate cloud and AI adoption. You’ll confidently hold a room of mixed stakeholders, bringing enough technical fluency to ask incisive questions without needing to be the most technical person there, while partnering with our architects and delivery teams to go deep as required. As a thought leader you’ll land our go-to-market strategy, identify cross- and up-sell opportunities, and help customers optimize and innovate.

Role & Responsibilities

• Opportunity Development: Identify whitespace within accounts, build value hypotheses, drive executive conversations, and co-own account penetration with sales.
• Discovery Leadership: Lead early discovery with senior stakeholders to shape problem statements and align solutions to measurable outcomes.
• Scoping & Sizing: Assess requirements with sales, scope and size opportunities accurately, and define profitable margins with delivery teams.
• Market & Technical Expertise: Stay current on industry trends, act as a subject matter expert in client engagements, and support solution design and proposals.
• Sales Impact: Support cross-sell/upsell motions, contribute to Pre-Sales team knowledge, and consistently work toward exceeding sales targets.

What we need to see from you

Skills & Competencies

• Cloud, Data & AI Expertise: Strong knowledge of Microsoft Azure (governance, identity, networking, security, FinOps), data platforms (Fabric, lakehouse, Synapse, Data Factory), and Azure OpenAI (prompting, model use, RAG, responsible AI).
• Security & Compliance Awareness: Solid understanding of cloud security best practices (IAM, encryption, network security) and key regulatory frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2).
• Sales & Opportunity Leadership: Proven ability to penetrate accounts, map stakeholders, run value-led prospecting, and win large-scale services engagements.
• Executive-Level Engagement: Experienced in influencing, presenting to, and negotiating with C-suite, IT, business leaders, procurement, finance, and legal.
• Strategic, Collaborative Operator: Strong strategic thinking with fast execution, effective cross-team collaboration, strong communication skills, and a track record of driving revenue and exceeding targets.

Job Function

Sales

Accommodations

SoftwareOne welcomes applicants from all backgrounds and abilities to apply. If you require reasonable adjustments at any point during the recruitment process, email us at reasonable.accommodations@softwareone.com.

Please include the role for which you are applying and your country location. Someone from our organization that is not part of the decision-making process will be in touch to discuss your specific needs and we will make every effort to accommodate you. Any information shared will be stored securely and treated in the strictest of confidence in line with GDPR.

At SoftwareOne, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Additionally, we encourage experienced individuals that have taken an intentional career break and are now prepared to return to work to explore our SOAR program.