Channel Partner Program Roundup: CompTIA, Dimension Data, Vorex

Order up! We’ve got the latest partner news ready for your viewing pleasure, hot off the presses. This week we’re featuring our friends from CompTIA, Dimension Data and Vorex.

CompTIA: IT services veteran Mike Brogan was awarded with CompTIA’s Lifetime Achievement Award during this week’s Annual Member Meeting in Ponta Vedra Beach, Florida. Brogan took home the award for his contributions to the IT industry during his 40-year career.

Brogan is the owner, president and chairman of the board for Erb’s Technology Solutions, and is considered one of North America’s leading authorities on how small and midsize businesses can utilize IT to gain a competitive advantage, according to the announcement. He has also served on several industry councils, including the HP Advisory Council, HTG Leadership Council and Lenovo Dealer Advisory Council, among others.

“Mike is a well-respected IT services pioneer and true channel ambassador who has built a successful career and exceptional company by staying focused on building meaningful relationships, giving back to his community, peers and future leaders, and delivering exceptional service and technical expertise to small businesses,” said Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA’s CEO, in a statement. “We are pleased to honor his legacy and applaud his efforts and continued passion for making the IT channel a strategic business partner, and a great place to build a career.”    

Dimension Data: IT solutions and services provider Dimension Data has been named a Microsoft Skype for Business Global Elite Launch Partner, following Microsoft’s recent announcement that it plans to release Skype for Business in the first half of 2015.

The new offering is expected to pair Microsoft’s Lync communications offering with Skype to provide users with a secure and accessible video collaboration platform, according to the announcement. Prior to the integration, Lync served as Microsoft’s business communication solution, while Skype was often relegated as a consumer video collaboration offering.

“As a Microsoft strategic partner for over a decade, we’re very excited about Skype for Business,” said Peter Menadue, Dimension Data’s Group GM for Microsoft Solutions, in a statement. “Over 300 million people use Skype for messaging, calling and sharing. With Skype for Business, Microsoft is bringing together the familiar user experience of Skype with the security, compliance and control of Lync.”

Vorex: Cloud-based professional services automation provider Vorex launched its first partner referral program, which will allow partners to earn monthly stipends for selling the company’s project management software.

Partners are eligible to earn up to 10 percent for referrals up to a six-month timeframe, with a continuing 2 percent reward for the remaining term up to 24 months, according to the announcement. Vorex plans to add deal registration to the program later this year.

“A referral is the greatest compliment any business can receive and because our technology can be used by the VAR and MSP, as well as the SMB, a referral program to incent channel partners to resell Vorex software as part of their solutions stack was a logical next step,” said Mike Salem, CEO and president of Vorex. “Channel partners are the best sales force for targeting the business IT needs of SMBs, and we expect our referral program to be well-received and become a core contributor to the company’s growth in 2015 and beyond.”

We hope you enjoyed this week’s batch of channel partner news, Roundup Rangers, and we look forward to serving up some more tasty morsels next week. Until then, stay safe out there.