Tech Data is offering discounts on Cisco training and Intermec products as part of its technical enablement program now open to authorized Intermec Honours Partners.

The program will enable Intermec VARs to also become certified Cisco VARs. Tech Data said that through discounts and complete reimbursement programs, the costs of Cisco certification could be close to nothing.

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The Clearwater, Fla., distributor is offering the program through its AIDC (automatic identification and data capture)/RFID Specialized Business Unit. Discounts on the Intermec products are available during the first 90 days of VAR participation with Tech Data.

Tech Data is making the offer following a change in the channel program at Intermec Technologies, the Everett, Wash., pioneer in bar codes and supply chain information systems. Intermec previously followed a closed distributor program, requiring partners to pick one distributor and use only that company for the entire year, according to Tech Data.

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"Now they have gone to a more neutral model, which provided better access for Tech Data," said Chuck Bartlett, vice president of network product marketing for Tech Data. And that, in turn, gives Intermec partners better access to Cisco training, he said.

That's because Tech Data's partner enablement program, in cooperation with Cisco, delivers Cisco training to VARs in local markets, Bartlett said, and such training is what VARs need to become Premiere Cisco Partners.

"Now Intermec Honours partners can get these certifications, get deeper discounts on pricing and get special pricing from Cisco," he said. "We believe this is a very unique way to enable the reseller community."

And it should boost sales for Tech Data as well. Of Intermec's 450 Honours partners, only about 10 were doing business with Tech Data before the changeover of the program. Tech Data now expects that number to climb.