Vizard: IBM Gets Principled About the Channel
Big Blue looks to improve its reputation with a Principles of
Engagement document governing how internal salespeople deal with the
channel.
On-demand application aggregator Jamcracker is opening up its
services to VARs, offering Webstores to help them market SAAS services
to their existing customers.
Jamcracker is offering a new service to help
VARs quickly add software as a service to their lineups.
The
Santa Clara,
Calif.,
aggregator of on-demand software applications—including those from Microsoft,
WebEx and McAfee—is opening up its Webstores model to VARs. The company
also offers the services to telcos and large service providers. Webstores
provide front- and back-end services delivery infrastructure, billing and
settlement, as well as customer administration and support for SAAS. All
VARs need to do is add the stores to their Web sites and provide the sales
support.
"We think there is a great role for the traditional
VAR
who has relationships with customers and has established himself as a trusted
adviser," said Steve Crawford, vice president of marketing at Jamcracker.
"They are the ideal conduit to deliver these services to end users."
And the service provides VARs with a quick entry into the SAAS space with
little to no commitment to infrastructure. Participating VARs get a source of
monthly recurring revenue.
Through Jamcracker's service, which acts as a marketplace for applications
on demand, VARs have access to multiple applications, including Microsoft
Sharepoint and the company's new Dynamic
CRM
offering, WebEx conferencing, and IT security, among others.
Interested VARs can start the registration process at the Jamcracker site. The
company will then qualify those who are existing MSPs (managed service
providers), VARs or Web hosting companies.
Once qualified, the
VAR would set up his
Webstore, upload his logo and then market the site to his end customers.
"We will help them in terms of doing sales and marketing to their end
customers," Crawford said. "Because we have a lot of different
channel partners over the years, we've been able to learn best practices for
how to take these services to market. We succeed when our channel
succeeds."
The company has been piloting the program for a few months already and
currently has more than 20 resellers who are in the process of going live with
their stores.
Jamcracker was founded in 1999 by K.B. “Chandra” Chandrasekhar, who also
founded Exodus Communications.
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Channel News and Analysis 
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