Sun Unveils Channel Hard Deck Of 300 Named Accounts

Sun Microsystems is implementing a hard deck for its U.S.-based channel partners, promising to give all business outside of its 300 named accounts exclusively to solution providers.

The vendor is also reshuffling its channel sales team so that those solution providers who deal with customers across multiple territories will have better support, said Tom Wagner, said vice president of Americas region partner sales.

"These are significant changes we're making in Sun's channel," Wagner said. "It illustrates the emphasis we're placing on the channel here at Sun."

Under Sun's new PartnerFirst program, Sun is making an explicit statement to the market that it will go 100 percent channel in customers outside the vendor's 300 named accounts, Wagner said.

In those named accounts, Sun puts the majority of its Sun-badged resources, but also leverages partners who provide support. "Below that line, we've had a historical combination of direct and partner business," he said. "Now we want to see them become Sun-led, partner-sold. We will use Sun-badged resources to help develop the accounts, and then bring in partners to handle the customers."

Sun does not publish a list of those 300 named accounts, but partners can ask Sun if a particular customer is on the list, Wagner said.

The move opens up thousands of accounts to be exclusively served by partners, Wagner said. However, when asked how many accounts that Sun currently serves direct will now be passed to be exclusively handled by solution providers, he said he does not know the exact number.

"I don't have that number handy," he said. "But the number is substantial. Those accounts may have been direct accounts, or had partners, or some combination."

It looks like Sun is going to a channel hard deck in order to better concentrate on its key direct accounts, said Mark Teter, CTO of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based solution provider and Sun channel partner.

Teter also said it is important that Sun continue to leverage the channel in its named accounts as well. "We work well with Sun in their large direct accounts," he said. "The channel provides a lot of value in the top accounts."

Sun is also implementing a national coverage model in the U.S. whereby it is asking its partner sales executives to be responsible for helping one or more partners in their sales across geographies, Wagner said.

"Under the program, partners get a single window into Sun, a simple way to relate with the Sun channel," he said. "This is a result of partner feedback."

Previously, Sun's partner sales reps provided coverage at the headquarter level, but not necessarily at the partner level, letting those reps help partners improve sales in a single territory but not across multiple territories, Wagner said.

However, solution providers, as they grow their business, find themselves working across ever more territories, he said. "We're broadening our coverage to take into account that partners expand their business," he said. "It behooves us to take good care of these guys as they expand their business across the U.S. We have a lot of guys whose opportunities have expanded across the U.S."

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