Network Operating Systems
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Sun Microsystems is shining in the eyes of its channel partners these days.
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In the 2006
CRN
Channel Champions partner satisfaction survey, Sun, Santa Clara, Calif., edged ahead of rivals in the network
category on both technical and channel program criteria with an overall score of 76. Microsoft was second with 75.1, Novell third with 74.5 and Red Hat fourth with 70.1.
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The launch of Sun's Partner Advantage Program in late 2005 streamlined partner relationships and made them more straightforward, said Ron Herardian, CEO of Global System Services, Mountain View, Calif. "It's easier to work with Sun today than ever before, and the benefits, such as technical enablement and co-marketing programs, are a better value than ever before," he said.
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On channel program criteria, Sun made its best showing in the area of consistency of channel programs, but also earned the best ratings in ROI, visibility, and margins and rebates.
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Greg Stroud, Sun vice president of U.S. partner alliance sales, said Sun's target account rebate program delivered double-digit gross margins to partners that brought in new customers. "We made a very good decision to align our channel with our U.S. sales and growth strategies, and our No. 1 goal was to get new customers," he said.
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Microsoft, the runner-up on channel program criteria, held the advantage in service revenue opportunity and technical education. But Mark Teter, CTO of Advanced Systems Group, Denver, said Sun's efforts to expand product and services opportunities have been paying off for partners. "There's a risk for vendors to be so channel-focused that they don't create a well-trained and certified support organization, but that's never been what Sun does," Teter said. "They do a good job balancing between creating the right level of certifications and providing from an organizational standpoint the training, support and staff needed."
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Sun also edged ahead of its rival on technical criteria, where Novell was the runner-up thanks to a lead in directory support. Sun, though, earned top marks in the heavily weighted areas of scalability and security.
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