J.D. Edwards Appoints New Manager For Channel Alliances

Manion, who most recently was IBM's vice president of worldwide eServer sales, was named senior director of strategic alliances and channels at J.D. Edwards last month. She will manage J.D. Edwards' Genesis and public-sector partners, its relationships with the former Big Five consultants and its work with ASPs.

"We are trying to bring synergies across all our partner lines," Manion said. "I have a passion for partnership, and this [job brings together many areas I have worked in."

The channel's favorable response to Manion's appointment is making its way through the grapevine.

Manion and her staff have made "positive comments, congratulating [us on first-quarter successes," said Mike Hawksworth, CEO of solution provider MSS Technologies, Phoenix. That kind of feedback "is a big plus," he said, and bodes well for J.D. Edwards' partners.

"Bringing in someone of her caliber is nothing but positive for [J.D. Edwards and for us," said Mike Mayoras, president of DigiTerra, an Indianapolis solution provider. "We're pretty pleased with the direction that company is taking."

Some of the tumult surrounding recent changes in J.D. Edwards' channel programs prior to Manion's arrival has died down, channel sources said.

Last fall, Genesis partners,which sell into midmarket clients,were asked to take on a distributor role, wherein they both sell and implement the company's software.

A change that generated more controversy was J.D. Edwards' decision to pare down its partner list from about 650 to 400. "Many of the partners that moved out [of the program were very small," Manion said. In some cases, the departures were "mutually agreeable," she said.

Manion and other J.D. Edwards executives have said that partners who demonstrate sufficient commitment to the company's software will stay onboard.