Sungard AS Expands Channel Program to Europe
**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of April’s important channel-program changes you should know.**
Sungard Availability Services is crossing the pond, taking its channel partner program to the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Sweden.
Sungard AS introduced its partner program in 2009 across the United States and Canada. The European expansion comes after the continued success of the existing program, which has produced consecutive year-over-year double-digit growth, the company said.
Carmen Sorice, Sungard AS’ senior vice president of global channel sales and programs, tells Channel Partners the expansion involves a unified program that uses many of the best practices that have been successful in North America, and customized for each European region.
“Current partners will benefit from this expansion,” he said. “Our technology alliance partners will find it easier to do business with Sungard AS across North America and Europe. Many of our North America reseller and agent partners are increasingly engaged in global opportunities. The expansion and globalization of our channel program will enable these partners to leverage our Sungard AS capabilities and presence in Europe to meet the global needs of their customers. Our existing partners in Europe will benefit from the added capabilities, tools and practices that we will add to the new Global Channel Program.”{ad}
The program offers a collaborative “sell with” field organization with focused sales enablement, go-to-market support, exclusive lead registration and competitive compensation for partners ranging from boutique consultancies to cloud-hosting multinationals, according to Sungard AS. As part of its joint selling model, the company works with partners to provide complete services to their joint customers, meeting their evolving needs for as-a-service delivery models and OpEx financing.
“Our overall goal for the Sungard AS channel program expansion is to accelerate growth in our global channel business,” Sorice said. “We will accomplish this objective by helping our partners create enhanced business value for their customers during a time of rapid IT transition and convergence.”
Sungard AS expects continued investments in its partner program in Europe, including expanding its team with both Pan-European and in-country channel sales managers, contributing to the growth of its European channel-enabled revenue.
“Our leading position in the industry attracts channel partners seeking to differentiate themselves from their competition by combining value-added, fully recoverable production services to their existing service capabilities,” said Jean-Philippe Sohier, Sungard AS’ senior vice president of European sales.
