ARC 2011: Top Channel Programs

Vendors That Do Right By Channel Partners

The quality of a partnership between an IT solution provider and a vendor is of paramount importance: It can make or break a VAR's business. Responsiveness, quality of information and a host of other intangibles go into how a solution provider views a vendor's program. CRN's Annual Report Card gives channel partners an opportunity to rate these programs. Often, manufacturers study these results, using the feedback to improve and enhance their offerings.

No. 10: Juniper (Tie) - Enterprise Networking Infrastructure

Juniper scored a 78.3 in the Solution Provider Program criterion in the Enterprise Networking Infrastructure product category. Its criterion score beat that of the two other rivals in the category, Cisco and HP. Juniper's score improved from 2010, when the vendor received a 72.1.

No. 10: Symantec (Tie) - Backup & Recovery Software

Symantec also came in at 78.3 in the Solution Provider Program criterion within the Backup and Recovery Software category. Its criterion score beat that of two of three rivals in the category, NetApp and IBM. Symantec's criterion score was down very slightly from 2010, when the vendor received a 79.0.

No. 9: Juniper - Network Security Appliances

This time, Juniper's high Solution Provider Program score came in the Network Security Appliances category. The 79.6 score beat those of Cisco and McAfee. Juniper's score soared from 2010, when the vendor received a 68.3.

No. 8: Fortinet - Network Security Appliances

Another competitor in the Network Security Appliances category, Fortinet, came in at 80.5 in the Solution Provider Program criterion. Its criterion score beat that of three other rivals in the category, Juniper, Cisco and McAfee.

No. 7: SonicWall - Network Security Appliances

Wrapping up the contenders from the Network Security Appliances category is SonicWall, which, with an 80.8 score in the Solution Provider Program criterion, just eked out the win over Fortinet.

No. 6: Kaspersky Lab - Client Security Software

Kaspersky Lab scored a 81.4 in the Solution Provider Program criterion in the Client Security Software product category. Its criterion score beat that of three other rivals in the category, Symantec, Trend Micro and McAfee. Kaspersky Lab's score improved from 2010, when the vendor received a 78.6.

No. 5: Sophos - Client Security Software

Also from the Client Security Software product category, Sophos earned an 83.5 in the Solution Provider Program criterion. That score beat all of its competitors' scores, including that of Kaspersky, Symantec, Trend Micro and McAfee. Last year, Sophos earned a 74.7.

No. 4: EMC - Backup & Recovery Software

EMC scored a 84.1 in the Solution Provider Program criterion in the Backup & Recovery Software category. Its criterion score handily beat that of all other rivals in the category, Symantec, NetApp and IBM. The vendor beat last-place IBM in this criterion by nearly 14 points. EMC's score was just a tick above 2010's, when the vendor received an 83.6.

No. 3: EMC - SMB Network Storage

EMC was in the winner's circle again, this time for a high Solution Provider Program score in the SMB Network Storage category. The 85.1 score beat those of HP, D-Link and Dell.

No. 1: Intel (Tie) - Processors

The vendors with the best Solution Provider programs led the pack with scores of 86.0 apiece. Intel's criterion score in the Processor category beat that of Nvidia, which scored 70.1. Intel's score rose substantially from 2010, when the chip maker received a 78.6.

No. 1: Kaspersky Lab (Tie) - Network Security Software

New to the category in 2011 was Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky's score of 86.0 in the Solution Provider Program criterion in Network Security Software trounced that of its sole competitor, Trend Micro, which scored 62.2.