14 New, Changing Channel Programs: SonicWall, Ingram Micro, Cisco, More
Some vendors are introducing new resources for partners, while the "partner-first" philosophy takes hold.
![Changes to channel programs Changes to channel programs](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt0958ebdc448fe51d/6537c2ea03b33f17134549bc/Change-Road-Sign.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
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Cisco shared details of its new SMB field sales model.
The strategy, dubbed “scale,” supports channel partners, which Cisco is leaning on heavily for customer sales and services. Territory managers, akin to a regional CEO, support the partners, as do business development reps, sales acceleration personnel and practice specialists.
Read more about Cisco’s SMB partner strategy.
HPE‘s channel leader reiterated the company’s support for managed service providers.
With the company rapidly nearing the Nov. 1 launch of its new Partner Ready Vantage program, HPE vice president of worldwide channel and partner ecosystems Simon Ewington told MSPs that they are very much on the vendor’s radar.
Technology providers, managed service providers and cloud service providers (CSPs) will participate in the program.
Jeff O’Heir wrote about HPE.
Endpoint security provider CrowdStrike gave channel partners a rewards “debit card” in its latest program update.
Sales people and sales engineers who close with CrowdStrike deals get nearly immediate cashback awards in their card balance.
CrowdCard exists in addition to the vendor’s incentive programs.
Edward Gately wrote about CrowdsStrike.
Mimecast is expanding its reseller program into France and other countries beyond the U.S. and the U.K.
The email security provider recently completed a pilot program in advance of uniting all of its partner programs under the Mimecast Partner One banner in fiscal year 2025. That includes MSP and technology partners.
Get details on Mimecast’s partner program.
SonicWall is introducing “aggressive discount levels” for partners selling to new customer accounts.
The discounts, which all partner tiers can access, ease the cost of customer acquisition, according to SonicWall.
Among many changes that stemmed from partner feedback, SonicWall is allowing partners to access benefits before committing to training or business planning with the supplier.
Those updates come a couple months after Michelle Ragusa-McBain took the helm of the vendor’s channel.
Christine Horton summarized the changes in her article.
Identity and access management provider Okta said it has shifted to a partner-first strategy.
The vendor stayed quite mum on the actual details of the new approach to the channel. One exec said the entire company will “embrace partners in a way that we’ve never embraced them before.” And he stressed that the shift is taking place from the top all the way down the organization.
Dell, IBM and ServiceNow have also made similar announcements.
Christine Horton covered Okta’s strategy update.
Ingram Micro rolled out new resources at its Ingram One conference last month.
The distributor added self-paced training tracks to its Data Center and Hybrid Cloud Center of Excellence, accessed through the digital Xvantage platform.
In addition, Ingram unveiled a staff augmentation platform that connects partners to Ingram-badged offshore employees.
Read about the staff augmentation and education resources.
Gurucul is investing more in joint marketing with partners at it shifts more toward a channel focus.
Executives noted that the company had already emphasized partner services pull-through attached to its licenses and software, and that it sold in a partner-first model.
The security provider emphasized the “streamlined partner onboarding experience” in the new program.
Learn about Gurucul’s channel program.
Expel updated its portal as part of a larger partner program revamp.
The security operations provider took feedback from partners on topics such as deal registration, margins and marketing. That effort came as part of an movement to establish a “partner-first” mentality across the entire company.
Edward Gately has another scoop.
Secureworks is targeting strategic partnerships in Europe.
The enterprise security provider previously established what it called a “partner-first” strategy in North America and Africa. The company stated that its Taegis platform will only transact through solution provider and MSSP partners in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Read about Secureworks’ partner program.
Egnyte launched a technical enablement program and expanded its partner community.
The enablement program functions as part of the Egnyte Partner Academy. Egnyte co-founder Kris Lahiri said the content governance and collaboration platform provider widened its partner types to incude resellers, alliance partners and MSPs.
Read about Egnyte as part of Edward Gately’s weekly column.
DevOps platform provider JFrog launched a new partner program that that centers around co-selling.
JFrog’s senior vice president of global channels and alliances said the new program focuses on connecting partners to resources that already exist in Jfrog, including sales engineering and marketing support.
“We flipped the traditional investment-heavy partner model on its head because we think of our partners as strategic accomplices,” she said.
Get details on the Jfrog partner program.
A short-term credit program from TD Synnex gives partners more “flexibility, simplification and speed” in financing.
Notable in the new Amplify program is the multiple options. Partners can choose terms of 45, 60, 75 or 90 days. Partners can also elect for net terms on eligible orders, the company said.
Read Jeff O’Heir’s reporting on the matter.
CISO Global unveiled a new partner program in the United States and Latin America.
The managed cybersecurity and compliance provider is targeting reseller, MSP, referral and strategic partners, each with a different compensation model. The company will launch a partner portal in the first quarter of 2024.
Edward Gately has the scoop.
CISO Global unveiled a new partner program in the United States and Latin America.
The managed cybersecurity and compliance provider is targeting reseller, MSP, referral and strategic partners, each with a different compensation model. The company will launch a partner portal in the first quarter of 2024.
Edward Gately has the scoop.
Vendors across the partner world are extolling the virtues of simplicity and flexibility, Channel Futures finds in its latest channel programs roundup.
Channel-facing providers are navigating something of a double bind. Partners demand a simple experience accessing the resources and support of a vendor’s channel program; however, they also demand an experience tailored to their unique business model. That challenge grows more real as vendors add new partner types.
In the meantime, the phrase “partner-first” is sticking in the vernacular of channel leaders and even CEOs. Perhaps Dell can take some credit for popularizing the term with its latest shift, but harsh macroeconomic conditions that favor the channel over direct sales also are playing a role. With the C-level voicing their support for partners, channel leaders are working to make good on those promises.
SonicWall made an interesting play by lowering barriers to access its resources, as well as increasing discounts for new customer logos. HPE is gearing up for a big program launch and is evangelizing its channel to MSPs inside and outside the fold. And distributors TD Synnex and Ingram Micro added new resources of their own to make life easier for partners.
Go through the 14 images above to read about key updates to channel programs in the information communications and technology industry.
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