The IT industry is undergoing some major shifts. For solution providers in the systems space, that means staying ahead of the curve in not only desktop PCs, but also mobile PCs, smartphones and tablets and the wide range of server-class systems. So what has your IT vendor done for you lately?

The 2013 Partner Program Guide offers solution providers the information they need to evaluate IT vendors they already work with or are considering working with. The guide is based on detailed applications vendors submitted outlining all aspects of their partner programs. As part of the Partner Program Guide, UBM Tech Channel Research designates some programs as 5-Star Partner Programs.

Here we present the 5-Star designees in the systems space.

Program Name: Avaya Connect

Year Program Established: 2009

Number of North American Partners: 2,372

North American Channel Chief: Karl Soderlund - Vice President, Americas Channel Sales

URL: www.avaya.com

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Program Name: Cisco Channel Partner Program

Year Program Established: 1996

Number of North American Partners: 2,951

North American Channel Chief: Wendy Bahr - Senior Vice President, Americas Partner Organization

URL: www.cisco.com

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Program Name: Cisco Partner Led Program

Year Program Established: 2011

Number of North American Partners: 3,000

North American Channel Chief: Wendy Bahr - Senior Vice President, Americas Partner Organization

URL: www.cisco.com

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Program Name: Dell PartnerDirect

Year Program Established: 2007

Number of North American Partners: 50,652

North American Channel Chief: Jim DeFoe - Vice President North America Global Commercial Channel Sales

URL: www.dell.com

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Program Name: HP PartnerOne

Year Program Established: 2002

Number of North American Partners: N/A

North American Channel Chief: Scott Dunsire - Vice President & General Manager, U.S. Channel Sales, Hewlett-Packard Printing and Personal Systems

URL: www.hp.com

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Program Name: Hitachi TrueNorth Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2003

Number of North American Partners: 491

North American Channel Chief: Michael Rouser - Vice President, Americas Channel Sales

URL: www.hds.com

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Program Name: IBM PartnerWorld

Year Program Established: 1999

Number of North American Partners: 33,090

North American Channel Chief: Wilfredo Sotolongo - Vice President NA Business Partners and Midmarket

URL: www.ibm.com/partnerworld

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Program Name: Intel Technology Provider Program

Year Program Established: 1980

Number of North American Partners: 50,000

North American Channel Chief: Sharon Alt - Director, North America Channel Sales & Marketing

URL: www.intel.com

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Program Name: NA Lenovo Partner Network Program

Year Program Established: 2000

Number of North American Partners: 24000

North American Channel Chief: Chris Frey - NA Commercial Channel Chief

URL: www.lenovo.com

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Program Name: Microsoft Partner Network

Year Program Established: 2010

Number of North American Partners: 127,000

North American Channel Chief: Jenni Flinders - Vice President, U.S. Partner Business Development & Sales

URL: www.microsoft.com

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Program Name: Motorola Solutions PartnerEmpower Program

Year Program Established: 2010

Number of North American Partners: 3,553

North American Channel Chief: Mark Kroh - Vice President, North American Channels

URL: www.motorolasolutions.com

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Program Name: Oracle PartnerNetwork Specialized

Year Program Established: 1991

Number of North American Partners: 5,171

North American Channel Chief: Judson Althoff - Senior Vice President, Worldwide Alliances & Channels and Embedded Sales

URL: www.oracle.com

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Program Name: Choice Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2009

Number of North American Partners: 4,800

North American Channel Chief: Mike Conlon - Vice President, North America Channel Sales

URL: www.polycom.com

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Program Name: Signature Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2000

Number of North American Partners: 2,282

North American Channel Chief: Pohan Chiang - Vice President, Americas Sales

URL: www.qlogic.com

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Program Name: Independent Service & Maintenance Organization (ISMO Program)

Year Program Established: 2004

Number of North American Partners: 200

North American Channel Chief: Danielle Camp - Director of Strategic Relations

URL: www.servicekeytss.com

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Program Name: SGI Channel Network Program

Year Program Established: 2009

Number of North American Partners: 150

North American Channel Chief: Alison Ryan - Vice President Global Channel Sales

URL: www.sgi.com

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Program Name: FinchClub

Year Program Established: 1987

Number of North American Partners: 8,500

North American Channel Chief: Jeff Volpe - President

URL: www.viewsonic.com

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