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Qumulo this week unveiled its Partner1st Program to meet increasing demand for its QF2 universal-scale file storage system that runs in the data center and the public cloud.

Qumulo’s Leonard Iventosch

The company also has appointed Leonard Iventosch, previously with Nimble Storage, ExtraHop and EMC, as chief channel evangelist to advance channel programs and partnerships.

Eric Scollard, Qumulo’s vice president of worldwide sales, tells Channel Partners his company has gained enough traction in the market to “attract the attention of top enterprise VARs.”

“Those solution providers are ready and willing to make a commitment to Qumulo, and in return want the benefits of a partner program: deal security, training, rich margins, solid field-sales relationships,” he said. “Partners have made it clear that they love working with the Qumulo sales teams, and want the benefits of a more formal relationship.”

A self-service partner portal is available for training, marketing materials and sales enablement tools, and provides scorecards, analytics and performance metrics for visibility and reporting. Also, partners have access to Qumulo’s pipeline of enterprises that have expressed interest in QF2 and to help identify opportunities and “close bigger deals faster,” the company said.

“The program ensures that in any opportunity where we agree to partner, our registered partner will have the best opportunity to win, and at excellent margins,” Scollard said. “On any given opportunity, only our registered partner will get the support of the Qumulo sales and engineering teams, as well as special pricing and all other resources we can provide.”

At Qumulo, Iventosch will work to develop deeper engagement with VARs, help bring the new partner program to market and expand the company’s global channel network throughout North America and EMEA.

“I’ve been steeped in this market and have witnessed the incredible growth of Qumulo firsthand,” he said. “This growth has been fueled by a market appetite for a more modern file-based storage solution, coupled with a strong channel committed to delivering customers a superior storage experience. Since day one, Qumulo has adopted a partner-first approach, allowing them to deepen relationships with resellers and partners, and develop a world-class channel opportunity.”

More than 100 channel partners are bringing QF2 to market.

“File-based data is driving innovation in every modern business today more than ever,” said John Murphy, executive vice president of Advanced Systems Group. “Our partnership with Qumulo allows us to bring innovative technology and world-class support to our customers in data-intensive industries. On top of that, Qumulo’s Partner1st Program enables Advance Systems Group (aka Virtual Enterprises) with all the tools, marketing and support we need need to bring QF2 to the masses.”