BlueTie To Launch New Channel Program

In the next few weeks, BlueTie will roll out a new channel program segmented into Platinum, Gold and Silver levels, CRN has learned.

Platinum-level solution providers must sell 250 seats per month to receive 20 percent of the sale for the life of the account, said David Koretz, CEO of the Rochester-based company. Gold-level partners must sell 100 seats per month to receive 20 percent of the sale for the first year, 15 percent in the second year and 5 percent for the life of the account. There is no commitment for Silver-level partners.

BlueTie will also offer a $50 American Express check for each new customer. Depending on the application, the products sell for between $9.95 and $19.95 a month.

"The margins are great, and customers are attracted to the product because of its cost-effectiveness, simplicity and ease of use," said Toby Keller, vice president of sales at Maureen Data Systems, a New York-based solution provider that will act as a BlueTie master reseller, selling the services to other other solution providers. "We believe in the product, so we're trying to gain some exclusivity in the New York area."

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While BlueTie's products are targeted at companies with about 50 seats, solution providers are proving the scalability of the software and its viability as a midsize-business application. Maureen Data Systems, for example, recently scored big wins, selling 300-plus seats to radio station WNYC in New York and up to 600 seats to the New York chapter of the Visiting Nurses Association.

Several new BlueTie features are attractive to the SMB customer, solution providers said, including wireless capabilities, server-side virus scanning, realtime contact manager sharing and other collaboration features.

BlueTie is being careful not to overdistribute its products but is quickly adding some prominent partners to its reseller stable, including direct marketers Zones and PC Mall, and distributor Ingram Micro. Since April, the company has increased its reseller partners from about 20 to 80 and hopes to have about 350 by next year.

"We don't want to overdistribute the channel," said Fred Mayne, BlueTie's vice president of sales and marketing. "We want resellers who get the market and understand the power of what BlueTie offers. That's why a relationship like the one we formed with Ingram Micro is so important. Those solution providers get it."

The company recently added five channel sales managers and a full-time marketing manager, all dedicated to driving business for resellers and solution providers. BlueTie also provides free training and technical support.

"We were always committed to the channel, but the channel wasn't committed to us," Koretz said. "They said, 'Prove your commitment,' and we did. But with sales going the way they have been, relying on the channel wasn't a hard decision to make."