Goals Worth Pursuing

Kelly says with additional cooperation from partners, Sun could improve the revenue and profit potential of allies, help them differentiate their businesses from other companies in their area, and make it easier to do business with Sun. One way is via increased use of Sun's new iForce online information resource, which provides information on everything from how to get training to how to apply for SunFund dollars.

On another front, Kelly says Sun plans to concentrate more on some of its most enduring partners. "During the dot-com era, there was a feeling among certain partners that everybody paid attention to the new baby,i.e., the new Web integrators," she notes. "Now, we're spending more time with older, more established companies." Sun will also spend more time with ISV-like partners that deliver specific solutions to customers, she says.

Zeroing in on partners that provide specific solutions is something many vendors plan to do this year. PowerQuest, for example, launched specific product initiatives directly related to Windows XP deployments, Windows 2000 upgrades and desktop- management initiatives. Last month, the Orem, Utah-based software developer began field-testing various projects with partners, including MCSi, Perot Systems and Siemens. PowerQuest will likely expand the program for additional partners later this year.

Likewise, NetIQ, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of e-business infrastructure-management and intelligence solutions, recently launched an Authorized Reseller Program that has specific program elements for partners that specialize in infrastructure-management, security management, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) management and Web analytics. The three-tiered program was developed to move more copies of its NetIQ infrastructure-management and Web-analytics solutions, and its new security-management and VoIP-management software.

While some solution providers dislike vendor emphasis on specialization, others say the effort is long overdue. Tom Hagin, vice president of sales at NetXperts, San Ramon, Calif., says he likes to specialize. An Avvid Certified Partner, the converged VoIP solutions his company sells are providing cost savings to NetXpert's clients. "This new technology has shown us an opportunity to double our chances in any account," Hagin says. "Now it's possible to discuss network convergence with buyers on the telecom side of customers' businesses."

Any vendor that doubles its chances with customers gains their loyalty, he says. That's something more vendors should take into account when they change their programs.