Novell Unveils Demand Agent Program, PartnerNet 2003

On Monday, the Provo, Utah, company said its new demand agent program will give a commission and rebates to partners that drive new Novell business beyond the installed base of customers.

Under the new program, which becomes effective Jan. 1, Novell's Platinum partner--its elite partner base--can earn fees for influencing technology buys without taking title to the software, said Nancy Reynolds, vice president of North American channels for Novell.

Novell will also expand training and offer specialization designations for partners in specific solutions areas including its Nsure secure identity management and extend Web application development platform. The company also said it will offer more partner incentives for pushing Novell's Nterprise cross-platform networking services including eDirectory and NetWare and participating in the company's Ngage professional services area.

For example, Novell intends to offer skills-transfer training on those solution sets to allow partners to more effectively participate in Ngage service opportunities, officials said.

Finally, Novell plans to turn over between 1,500 and 2,000 of its direct accounts to select Platinum partners beginning Jan. 1. As part of its named accounts/named partner model revealed last year, Novell promised to distribute thousand of customer accounts to its top partners. In the interim, Novell has identified roughly 200 Platinum partners eligible for the model.

Under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Jack Messman and Vice Chairman Chris Stone, Novell has been trying to rebuild its once-decaying channel program.

The PartnerNet 2003 programs--and customer account turnover to Platinum partners--is designed to keep Novell's more loyal partners close to Novell.

"Novell needs partners to succeed," said Chris Stone, Vice Chairman of the Office of CEO, in a statement issued Monday. "We want our partners to feel like an extension of Novell."