Bull's Eye Awards: Partner Program of the Year (Class A) - CONTENDER
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NetApp
When NetApp earlier this year changed the name of its channel program from VIP
to the NetApp Partner Program, it was more than a simple change in unit
letterhead. The renamed program for the first time welcomed all partner types,
from VARs and distributors to system integrators and service providers, under
one channel umbrella.
Moreover, the Sunnyvale, Calif.,
vendor rolled out a host of new programs along with the new moniker, including
the NetApp Field Portal, a tool that aims to optimize sales effectiveness by
providing company and product information to partners throughout the buying
cycle. A key feature available through the portal, NetApp’s Campaign Express,
delivers an automated system for building specialized marketing efforts for
NetApp solutions. Campaign Express packs features such as lead generation,
collateral development and metrics reporting.
“NetApp is dedicated to investing in our partners in order to help further
their businesses and open new opportunities for them to work with their
customers to solve inefficiencies in their data centers," says Julie
Parrish, vice president of Global Partner Sales at NetApp. "High-impact
enablement tools such as the NetApp Field Portal and Campaign Express are just
a few examples of how we are making it easier for our partners to stay focused
on what they are good at.”
Also this past year NetApp revved its GetSuccessful Partner Enablement
Program, adding on-demand videos, comprehensive solution kits and face-to-face
workshops to help partners ramp up their product knowledge and sales skills.
The NetApp Partner Program now also recognizes technology specializations in
areas such as VMware virtualization, Microsoft virtualization, and backup and recovery.
The changes are all about shortening sales cycles and helping partners
become trusted advisers to their customers. And when it comes to services,
NetApp has partners covered there, too. The vendor’s Authorized Professional
Service Partner Program includes intensive training and a plethora of support
tools to help partners deliver NetApp branded services.
For all of the improvements to its Partner Program, NetApp has earned the
Channel Insider Contender Bull’s Eye Award for Partner Program of the Year for
programs of $1billion or more.
