2006 Partner Programs Guide Methodology

2006 PARTNER PROGRAMS GUIDE's FIVE-STAR Vendor Recognition:

By: Marilyn O'Hara and Lawrence Walsh

Every year, VARBusiness scrutinizes, then fine-tunes the process by which we award five stars to vendor programs appearing in our annual Partner Programs Guide.

A five-star designation represents overall excellence in channel commitment and channel innovation. Vendors whose programs are honored are notable for the way they monitor partner members' training and certification levels, the amount of business they generate, the amount of products or services they sell indirectly and the number of dollars they invest in their programs, among other factors.

Of nearly 260 vendor programs reviewed this year for our 12th annual Partner Programs Guide, 73 programs from 70 different vendors received the coveted five-star distinction (85 programs were honored in 2005). Those programs, highlighted in our March 20 print issue, are detailed further online, in addition to another 250-plus programs that applied.

Of note, the Partner Programs Guide is a perfect complement to our Annual Report Card issue, published in the fall, our highly regarded study of partner satisfaction as rated by their solution-provider partners.