Data Dynamics Enhances Partner Program
**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of September’s important channel-program changes you should know.**
The Advantage Partner Program is aimed at helping partners accelerate NAS hardware sales and strategic entrenchment into enterprises, increase margins on consulting and professional services, and obtain specialized technical and sales training.
Sean McCarry, Data Dynamics’ vice president of worldwide sales, tells Channel Partners the new program is on par with those of larger corporations. NuView originally developed the StorageX platform in 2001-2002, then was acquired by Brocade in 2006. Data Dynamics, a three-year-old startup, then acquired StorageX in 2012, and has further developed the platform since.
“Data Dynamics has launched the Advantage Partner Program to ensure we support our partner-led go-to-market strategy with a comprehensive technical and sales enablement program,” he said. “The objective is to provide our partners the ability to provide innovation and differentiation to data-migration services …”
StorageX enables the migration to and management of unstructured storage with its software-defined data migration platform.
Some 80 percent of Data Dynamics’ revenue comes from partners. It has 15 partners in addition to several technology partners that include EMC and NetApp.
As members of the new partner program, VARs, system integrators and service providers can get up to speed quickly and at no cost, and then increase their revenue and profit as volume increases over time, McCarry said. The partner program also offers discounts to partners that invest in training their resources on the StorageX platform.
According to IDC, unstructured data is growing at 65 percent year over year, and to meet this growth, legacy hardware vendors and new startups are building next-generation systems, software and hardware-based, to address the scalability needed.
Cuong Le, of Data Dynamics’ technical sales, worked extensively with partners during stints at IBM and Lenovo. He said Data Dynamics “understands the importance of investing in developing a channel.”
“Critical factors to a successful channel program are ones which create compelling value for both channel partners and their end customers, namely: significant end-to-end competitive advantages in value proposition; solution proposal and solution delivery; rewarding our top partners; and ease of doing business …” he said.
The new program features three partner tiers; bronze, silver and gold, with scaling benefits and discounts offered to each. Partners also can benefit from a rapid increase in sales revenue and margins.
Channel and strategic partnerships remain at the core of Data Dynamics’ growth strategy, McCarry said. Through a number of strong providers and integrators, the company increased revenue tenfold in 2014, he said.
