Q&A Quick Take With Symbol Channel VP Preizler

After less than two months as vice president of worldwide channels at Symbol Technologies, Sandy Preizler was thrown a curve ball: Motorola's $3.9 billion bid for the company. But VARs have been upbeat about the deal. Preizler spoke with VARBusiness senior editor Shelley Solheim about Symbol's partner efforts.

VB: What partner initiatives is Symbol working on right now?

Preizler: We just announced our new partner gateway, which is a single-sign-on portal for anything a partner would want to do with Symbol. It provides enablement in three primary areas: resources, programs and communication. The most important thing here is that we've made it easier for VARs to get the information they need.

VB: What are your three biggest partner-related goals for the coming year?

Preizler: The first is to continue the evolution in programs and partner communication via one-on-one meetings, field travel and our VAR council. We've developed an excellent program; now it's about seeing 1 plus 1 equal 3, and we'll get there through enablement and support. Some of the tools and capabilities we're putting out there, for example, are geared toward growth. There's our partner wizard, which enables partners to put their logos on professionally designed materials, newsletters, e-mails and advertising. And they can import their own proprietary e-mail lists, even in multiple languages. So now solution providers can pick what they want, put a logo on it, import an e-mail list and do an e-mail blast. It's an expense we take away from partners, and it enables partners to grow their businesses.