Fiberlink Communications (recently acquired by IBM) is switching from a per-device pricing model to a per-user pricing model for its mobile device management services. The move by the company that runs the MaaS360 service was driven by partner demand, Channel Chief Francois Daumard told MSPmentor.

The North America Channels Vice President Daumard, who joined Fiberlink in August 2013,  said that the user-based pricing model is “a very strong market trend in the channel. This is something that partners will be ecstatic about, we think.”

This channel-centric approach is what’s likely driven the company’s strong channel growth in the last year. Daumard said that the company tripled the size of its partner ecosystem in 2013, with MSPs contributing to that growth.

“MSPs have found that mobility is becoming a core complement of their offering,” Daumard said.

Fiberlink redesigned the structure of its channel partner program, forming a tiered program, which is now made up of six partner levels, according to Daumard.  These partner levels are based on cumulative revenue contribution to Fiberlink, he said.

Fiberlink is also now enabling MSPs to transfer licenses from one customer to another, a change that should be popular with MSPs.

Additionally, partners can now purchase licenses in bulk, Daumard said. “Partners can now buy licenses upfront at a discount to package and bundle with other solutions and services,” he said.

Fiberlink has also introduced a new MaaS 360 certfication for partners, which expands on CompTIA’s  Mobility+ certification, Daumard said. The certification is for IT professionals who are engaged in the delivery and management of mobility services

“The only way our partners can get our certfication is by first passing Mobility+ by CompTIA,” he said. “We think Mobility+ is extremely well designed and extremely put together by CompTIA for partners to acquire the basic knowledge to deliver mobility services and mobility skills.”

Daumard told MSPmentor that since IBM’s acquisition of Fiberlink, “there has been no disruption” with channel partners or his channel team.

Fiberlink announced these partner program changes in a newsletter that went out to partners in January 2014.

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