PARTNER CHANNEL: News Briefs

Posted: 12/2002

News Briefs

* Qwest Communications
International Inc. has launched a referral program for its in-region and
out-of-region partners. By referring leads to Qwest, the partner or subagent can
earn compensation on closed sales, while Qwest manages all the back-end
administrative process work. The program is tailored for Qwest partners who come
across small business opportunities but do not have the time to manage these
opportunities through the order process. The Qwest Referral Program allows Qwest
partners and subagents to minimize backend paperwork, procedures and follow-up
on the sale of simple voice and data services.

Qwest referral partners have access
to the latest Qwest business-related product information and promotions, and an
online referral system, including lead entry, reporting and tracking. Subagents
whose master partners opt out of the Qwest Referral Program will be ineligible
to register.

* ACC Business has made staff
changes. It has promoted Adam Land to technical sales manager. He will work
closely with customers, agents and agent managers to match products and services
to customer needs and expectations. Land joined ACC Business as one of the
company’s original customer project managers. While at the company, Land worked
in offer management and technical support for the ACC Business platform.

Deborah Smith has been promoted to
training manager, where she is responsible for teaching and facilitating all
training courses for the company, as well as developing courses for new products
and services.

Also, the company has named Holly
Rushford as vice president of operations, where she manages more than 170 ACC
Business associates. Her department includes customer care, process engineering,
order processing, provisioning, risk management, training and recruitment.

Rushford first joined ACC Business
as a Network Provisioning Specialist in 1987. During her tenure at the company,
she has served in a variety of Network Management roles including Network Cost,
Switch Database, Toll Free, Order Flow Facilitator and Network Administration.

* Internap Network Services Corp.
has signed up master agency MicroCorp Inc. to offer Internap IP services
as part of its business solution bundles distributed via MicroCorp channel
partners, agents, VARs and system integrators throughout the country. Bundles
include a full T1 to the Internet, local loop access and PathView, Internap’s
network monitoring ASP application. Other bundles include disaster recovery
(remote data backup and restore), Web collaboration, Web conferencing and
customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

* In response to consistent growth
over the last year, Hilton Head, S.C.-based wholesale data provider American
Telesis Inc. has expanded its sales force by a factor of three and has added
a new marketing manager, Caroline Harrington, to the team. Harrington brings
with her many years of Web design and corporate marketing experience. Under her
direction, American Telesis also has re-launched its Web site, with a sleeker
look and a new navigation process broken into three areas, for agents, resellers
and carriers, and end users. "Where the other carriers are reducing their
workforce, we are increasing ours to maintain or improve our service levels–our
agents know we are willing to jump through hoops for them," says vice
president of business development Steve Hesling.