Recent Articles
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Cogeco Peer 1 Launches Partner Portal for Channel
Business solution providers are coming to the realization that one-size-fits-all partner programs don’t always meet the needs of all their channel partners. One company moving toward customized partner programs is Cogeco Peer 1, which recently launched its new Cogeco Peer 1 Partner Portal and three new partner programs. The programs’ goals, according to the company—which…
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Strange Bedfellows Have Become the Microsoft Norm
For as long as anyone in IT can remember, a focus on controlling the platform on which an IT solution is delivered has influenced every action taken by every IT vendor. No vendor was more focused on that issue than Microsoft. Extending the Windows franchise drove every strategy the company employed for over three decades.…
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Microsoft Details Massive Reorganization Plan
In what amounts to one of the most ambitious efforts ever to align channel partner sales efforts with a vendor’s sales organization, Microsoft revealed how it plans to go to market in collaboration with partners in the wake of a massive corporate reorganization. At the Microsoft Inspire 2017 conference, the company took the wraps off…
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Lenovo Changes Its North American Channel Focus
As Lenovo prepares for a Lenovo TechWorld conference in China, the company’s approach to the channel is evolving in North America. Sammy Kinlaw, channel chief for Lenovo in North America, said the firm is endeavoring to focus its channel partners on higher-margin PCs, while also creating a dedicated data center channel program. Previously, Lenovo had…
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Microsoft Teams: Where Are the Channel Opportunities?
General availability of Microsoft Teams was in March 2017, but more than 50,000 organizations have been using the platform since it was previewed in November 2016. These customers include Accenture, Alaska Airlines, Cerner, ConocoPhillips, Deloitte, Expedia, J.B. Hunt, J. Walter Thompson, Hendrick Motorsports, Sage, Trek Bicycle and Three UK. Referring to Teams as “the chat-based…
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Cisco Boosts Appeal of Enterprise Licensing Agreements
Now that Cisco has extended the scope of its enterprise licensing agreement to include Cisco security technologies and collaboration software, the company’s partners are naturally excited to wield a new weapon against Cisco competitors. The minimum contract value to be eligible for a Cisco enterprise licensing agreement (ELA) is now $250,000. Previously, a Cisco One…