**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of March’s important channel-program changes you should know.**

Unify, the unified-communications provider recently acquired by global managed service provider Atos, on Tuesday announced numerous improvements to its partner program to increase business through its global partner network.

In the past year, Unify’s partner base has more than doubled in size to more than 2,000 partners in more than 50 countries, along with 13 new distributors. Partner-program improvements include streamlining and simplifying the onboarding process and experience, making it easier to do business with Unify. Today, 80 percent of the partners that Unify onboarded in the last 12 months already are actively selling, according to the company.

Unify will operate as a separate division of Atos.

“We really made a distinct decision to go strategically into the channel and we’re seeing amazing growth,” he said. “We know that to get our solutions to the commercial markets in general to grow, we had to have a great channel strategy. And we decided that the channel is where we will see our growth and we’re really committed to it.”

New specializations have been added to the partner program to help further differentiate and grow business in new markets, including the Health Station HiMed Specialization that was made available in December 2015. Additionally, Unify has made its large enterprise OpenScape portfolio available through distribution, enabling partners to access these services more quickly and at a lower cost, the company said.{ad}

Training and certification updates are another area of ongoing investment, with additional training courses now available online, with all OpenScape Business training courses accessible via the Web. Unify also has reduced large enterprise certification requirements by 50 percent, resulting in less investment for taking VUE certification tests.

Between 20 and 56 days of required training have been eliminated by combining implementation and support certification requirements, Unify said. Also, 11 authorized training partners have been added to Unify’s training portfolio, bringing the total number to 17 globally.

Unify also introduced new tools and offerings to make it easier for partners to grow, including: a new configure, price and quote (CPQ) tool; guided selling methodology and workflow integration to request special bids and technical approval; and an OpenScape Business software bundle offering.

“Simplification is a great word to describe some of the new features of the partner program because of our tier 2 distribution model,” DeLozier said. “Now, there is one place to go. And with our new partner portal and new partnerships with distribution, it has made it a lot simpler for them to do business with us.”

“Our team is excited about the opportunity to work with Unify and Atos more closely,” said Brian Gendron, Black Box Network Services’ vice president of large enterprise sales. “It’s inspiring to see Unify remain so dedicated and responsive to the channel in a time of immense change. We’re excited to see what’s in store for the upcoming year and beyond.”