June’s Channel Program Changes

Two of the biggest telcos on the planet had channel news of note in June, as did an IT giant that’s about to get a whole lot bigger.

This month’s channel-program roundup includes the latest on Dell’s acquisition of EMC and channel ramifications; a new partnership between AT&T and Samsung; and some big strides Sprint is making among its partner base.

As is the norm, our gallery features new channel programs from some companies you might not know, plus enhancements to programs that might already be your cup of tea.

There are simply too many channel-program updates from the past month to include in this update, but it does offer a nice sampling.

Missed May’s big channel changes? Find those here.

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Sprint has changed its direction with the channel since the recent formation of its Global Wireline Business Unit, focusing on fewer partners, and launching new programs to incent activity and growth. The wireline unit was announced in May and is focused on B2B, with customers ranging from Fortune 100, multinational corporations and large national accounts, to midmarket customers and the SMB space.

You can read all about what Sprint’s doing in the channel here.

AT&T Partner Exchange added a Samsung-specific segment to its Mobility Certification Achievement Program (CAP), in addition to the ability to resell three Samsung devices. The carrier is bringing Samsung in to work directly with partners. The program’s goal is to “make it as easy and seamless as possible for solution providers to find success with mobility.”

Click here to read more about this partnership.

Boasting one of the coolest names in the channel, ThousandEyes, the network intelligence company, launched its first channel program to help partners assist their clients with cloud adoption.

The ThousandEyes Channel Partner Program offers technical certifications and training, sales and marketing resources, and a “compelling incentives framework to reward ongoing success and future growth,” the company said. Resellers get tools and resources aimed at delivering value to their customers while fostering recurring relationships and revenue with a SaaS-based platform and subscription model.

Get the full scoop on ThousandEyes here.

As part of a new agreement, master agent Converged Network Services Group (CNSG) will offer Mitel’s business communications portfolio to its agents and managing partners. The Mitel MiCloud portfolio includes, mobility solutions, voice, video, contact center, conferencing and collaboration.

Read the full story about this deal.

Dell’s pending $67 billion acquisition of EMC is the biggest of all time in the IT industry, so naturally, partners might be interested in how the integration of these two giant companies is going to go.

Cheryl Cook, Dell’s channel chief, told Channel Partners in a Q&A that, from a channel perspective, working through “all the communications and messaging” is key once the acquisition closes later this year.

We’ll still likely operate in parallel as independent companies when the bell rings – so they [EMC partners] are still going to process orders in their tools and we’ll process orders in our tools,” Cook told us. “We will look for any kind of integrated changes to programs or structures to occur in the February [2017] time frame, which will be at the beginning of the new fiscal year of the combined company — to be called Dell Technologies.”

Cook had much more to say. Read it here.

Tufin, the network security provider, enhanced its Global Partner Program to help VARs sell more and increase their margins. Program improvements include updated partner designation tiers with enhanced benefits; better margins with deal registration; a new partner portal with personalized access to resources; and specialized certification training programs.

This is where to read about all of the changes at Tufin.

Analytics software provider Luminoso launched its first-ever channel program and named 30-year sales veteran Mike Brunnick to lead the charge. He’s expected to build new partner relationships that give the company access to new clients.

“The good problem that we have is we have lots and lots of folks who want to be partners with Luminoso,” he told us. “We have to define the program in real time around, ‘OK, these folks would be great resellers, these folks would be great refers, or adjacent technologies where they say we are seeing the need for these kinds of solutions.’ We have a great variety of technology companies, SIs and digital advertising agencies that are interested in being partners with Luminoso.”

Read the full story here.

ProtectWise, the network security platform provider, rolled out its first channel program with Fishtech Labs, GuidePoint Security and Optiv as tier-1 anchor partners.

Founded in April 2013, ProtectWise is led by a team of security and SaaS industry veterans from McAfee, IBM, Mandiant and Proofpoint. The company has raised more than $37 million.

Program highlights include: a competitive compensation structure including discounts and points; a dedicated account manager and technical support resources; joint promotion opportunities; simple deal registration; free training; and a trial and demo account of the ProtectWise Platform.

Get the full story on ProtectWise here.

Caringo, the software-defined object storage provider, enhanced its multi-tiered partner program to provide resellers with more resources and revenue opportunities from sales of its software appliance. Caringo launched its Connect Partner Program more than 10 years ago and now includes “an arsenal of sales enablement tools, marketing programs, certified training and revenue incentives based on different tier levels,” the company said.

Get the full scoop on Caringo here.

Converged data platform provider MapR Technologies expanded and enhanced its partner program to foster global alliances with select consultancies, platform and software providers, resellers and distributors.

The Converge Partners program is comprised of three tiers: Affiliate, Preferred, and Elite. With an expanded MapR ecosystem, customers can “select certified products and solutions to lower project risks and realize cost savings over custom-built solutions,” the company said.

Geneva Lake, MapR’s vice president of worldwide alliances, tells Channel Partners that, because of MapR’s growth and the expansion of big data from enterprise customers, the new program was created to “address and successfully fulfill expanding customer demand by building and leveraging a high-quality, world-class MapR global partner ecosystem and jointly going after these opportunities.”

Click here to learn more about MapR.

Cyber-defense firm Armor, formerly FireHost, launched its Global Partner Program to provide resources needed to deliver managed, measurable security and compliance services. The program is designed to combine MSPs, resellers and technology partners with Armor’s “expertise in driving active, managed cyber defense,” the company said.

It is aimed at accelerating partner enablement, and equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to capitalize on sales opportunities as quickly as possible.

Read the full story here.

They’re playing sweet music at Jazz, the talent-management software provider, which launched its new channel program aimed at giving VARs a piece of the rapidly growing SMB human-resources market. The program provides an opportunity for HR, recruiting, IT and benefits consultants to deepen their client relationships, increase potential revenue and stay relevant in the face of a rapidly evolving HR technology landscape, according to the company.

This is where to read more about Jazz.