EfficientIP, the network automation and security company, has appointed John Ricciardi, formerly with Nokia, as its new channel development director. It also has enhanced its Smart Partner Program for better alignment with partner and reseller expectations.

EfficientIP’s John Ricciardi

Ricciardi will be responsible for developing and executing a regional channel strategy in North America, giving partners access to EfficientIP’s technologies that aim to simplify management of and reinforce the protection of critical network services.

The partner program now includes a simplified on-boarding process, and provides expertise to sales and technical teams.

EfficientIP’s services focus on DDI, which includes domain name system (DNS), dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) and IP address management.

Ricciardi tells us there is a strong partner program in EfficientIP’s European and Asian markets, and he’s looking forward to continuing those efforts and strengthening the channel in North America.

“EfficientIP’s global program has continued to evolve to meet both the needs of our partners themselves and the demands of their end customer,” he said. “Depending on the global region, the strategy obviously varies slightly, but there is an overall emphasis on creating mutually beneficial partnerships. EfficientIP is not just a vendor pushing software — we want lasting and fruitful relationships with our partners.”

The partner program is designed to offer a broad range of resellers access to EfficientIP’s integration capabilities, with “best-of-breed” network security and automation solutions. Complementary technologies from companies like Cisco, VMware, Microsoft, RedHat and ServiceNow allow EfficientIP to offer value to both the end users and to partners, the company said.

“EfficientIP realized that as its own expansion continued, its partner program must too evolve,” Ricciardi said. “More and more deals were being done with companies relying on strategic partners, such as government agencies, service providers and enterprises. We needed to align our program offering with the expectations of these partners and resellers to create a rock-solid foundation.”

The North American partner program includes: technical and sales training across EfficientIP’s DDI solutions; incentive programs; access to sales, marketing and technical resources; sales lead development; and value-added support services.

“The company had amassed partner input over the years, as well as sought it out for purposes of program growth,” Ricciardi said. “Feedback was compiled from current partners on their EfficientIP experience, along with new partners looking to engage with our solutions. We also had discussions with end customers on the ideal way they would be looking to procure products and services. All of this information combined helped us to introduce enhancements around our enablement tools, a simplified on-boarding process and a stronger reward program.”

Ricciardi brings more than 20 years of network technology and partner-program experience to his new job. At Nokia, he held business development and global partner management roles for 17 years. He focused on developing routes to market for technical solutions, and led teams through plan development, partner identification and on-boarding.

Ricciardi said his goals include engaging with new channel partners and providing a “simple and effective” program that delivers essential components to match partners’ needs.

A year from now, he hopes to have exceeded EfficientIP’s year-over-year growth plans and continued global partner rollout into emerging regions.

“EfficientIP continues to grow into new markets as the need to secure and automate networks with DDI solutions becomes more critical,” said Chris Pyne, EfficientIP’s vice president of North America sales and operations. “The channel is a natural progression for us as a company and we are thrilled to welcome John on board to help us to accelerate our channel sales. His in-depth knowledge and expertise in channel strategy and development will help us to build and strengthen long-term, fruitful business relationships with our partners.”