Big Vendors Worth Your Notice

/**/ /**/

Smaller companies, of course, aren't the only ones flexing their muscles on behalf of the channel.

\

\

This year, several high-profile high-tech companies have embraced the idea of working with solution providers like never before, while others have overhauled programs that were fraught with channel conflict or in need of new energy.

\

\

While I'm sure every solution provider has a few suggestions of their own, the 10 players highlighted on our first Emerging Heavyweights list were chosen for several different reasons. First, most represent market segments that are critical for the future of business technology solutions, including mobile computing, business intelligence,

network security

and

open source

technology. Second, it's possible to point to at least one major 2006 milestone in the progression of their channel programs, whether it was a brand-new program or a significant reengagement that is translating into new marketshare. Finally, many of these companies boast strategies that are being spearheaded by long-time channel advocates with a proven track record of success.

\

\

For the sake of organization ease, I've decided to discuss these companies in alphabetical order.

Acer's Advance
One thing CRN reporters hear constantly from our solution provider readers is that they're more likely to commit to the vendors that are obviously committing to them. Well, persistence sure is paying off for notebook and display heavyweight Acer America.

Two years ago, the company took a stand, saying it would refuse to sell any of its products direct and adding Ingram Micro to its slate of strategic distribution partners. That move proved prescient. Last month, the Global Technology Distribution Council named Acer as the fastest-growing vendor in U.S. distribution among companies with more than $100 million in sales.

And when Gartner's latest PC share numbers were released earlier this month, Acer's share of the worldwide market continued to expand dramatically, although its U.S. position still is less dominant. Preliminary shipments for the third quarter show Acer in the No. 4 share position, with 3.47 million units shipped, compared with the 4.44 million shipped by the third place vendor, Lenovo. Its growth rate of 33.4 percent far outstripped those of most of its rivals, with the exception of Toshiba, which grew 30.5 percent. (More on Toshiba in a moment.)

Dirk Olsen, director of U.S. commercial channel sales for Acer America, San Jose, Calif., said the company continues to apply lessons learned in overseas markets to it domestic programs. Among key focuses for 2007 will be improving communications with partners. At last count earlier this year, those ranks were pushing 10,000, up from 6,000 just two years ago.

/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/

Extending EMC's Reach

\

Yes, we know every vendor is talking the

SMB

talk, but EMC took dramatic steps this year to craft an entirely new channel strategy around its sermon. And its strategy will likely take another twist next year as it integrates

RSA

Security, which it bought in mid-September to the tune of $2.1 billion.

\

\

The new effort, called EMC Velocity SMB, supports the Hopkinton, Mass.-based vendor's EMC Insignia line and carries a different set of membership requirements than its traditional program. The entry point for tier-two partners is $65,000 in hardware sales or $15,000 in software.

\

\

The SMB program, along with the company's traditional enterprise effort and the channel credibility boasted by its subsidiary VMware, rounds out the triple threat that EMC currently poses to its rivals. So far, early EMC Velocity partners1,300 have signed up to dateare pleased with the momentum they've been building.

\

\

Richard Brooks, director of business development for ACS Services in Easton, Mass., told

CRN

earlier this month that his company has performed dozens of implementations since it signed on. "[EMC's] suite of services are very competitively priced," Brooks told

CRN

. "But it's taken an enterprise-level solution to the SMB space, and [the small businesses] feel like they're getting more value."

\

\

ACS Services also reports that its EMC relationship has helped in midsize accounts with more than 100 employees where it is hard to get attention.

Highlighting Hitachi
Speaking of adding partners, Hitachi Data Systems of Santa Clara, Calif., reports that it has taken on more than 1,000 new partners for the small and midsize enterprise space this year, which clearly makes it eligible for Heavyweight status.

The ramp-up contributed to its recognition by the GTDC as the second fastest growing company through distribution among vendors with more than $100 million in annual sales, which also made us sit up and take notice.

Charlie Westling, president and CEO of Datalink, a $145 million national storage solution provider based in Chanhassen, Minn., that has been working with HDS for around nine years, said aside from great products, the vendor has done a good job with its "practical and impactful" partner training program and by providing reasonable margin opportunities. And while it is expanding its partner base, it is doing so carefully and methodically, he said.

Westling also is impressed by the access his company gets to HDS executives when there is an issue to discuss. "In our business, one of the hallmarks of having a strong partnership is having those relationships," he said.

/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/

Juniper Shakes Things Up

\

What can we say? Clearly, one of the best things Juniper has going for it is the considerable channel chops and Rolodex of former IBM-er Frank Vitagliano, who is reenergizing the vendor's program and is giving his team new empowerment.

\

\

One of the most dramatic steps the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based network hardware company made this year was in unifying its direct-touch and channel-touch sales teams under Vitagliano. His own focus is on getting deeper with new partners through business planning activities as well as responding quickly to change policies that sound great on paper, but have been harder to make work in the field, such as its Easy 8 deal-registration initiatives.

\

\

Juniper CEO Scott Kriens is actively involved in the vendor's ongoing channel evolution, and solution providers will be watching closely how he handles an ongoing stock options investigation. At its partner conference earlier this year, several partners bent Kriens' ear. Within minutes, their comments had been passed along to Vitagliano and Bob Bruce's Juniper's U.S. channel chief.

\

\

"It's always nice when you have a CEO who goes right over to the channel executives to share feedback," said Christopher Labatt-Simon, CEO of D&D Consulting, a network integrator in Albany, N.Y., who also praises his local Juniper field representation.

NetApp's Net-Net
The No. 3 company on the GTDC's list of the largest fastest-growing vendors through U.S. distribution, Network Appliance is also among the industry's most innovative companies when it comes to experimenting with new programs.

To wit, NetApp was one of the first to establish deal registration policies, which are now table stakes for many high-tech companies seeking to balance value-added and volume strategies. It also deserves praise for FastPath, its program to identify ideal potential partners and bootstrap them into the NetApp program more quickly.

David Carpenter, director of business development for Insight Investments, a long-time NetApp partner in Orange, Calif., said while the vendor's early channel efforts could have been described as on-again, off-again, there is no question now that the company is committed-at the field and executive level.

"We're not an afterthought anymore," Carpenter said.

Red Hat's Crusade
The open-source software leader's interest in forging closer ties with the channel grew more evident late last winter, when it called an exclusive summit to ask for feedback from both its legacy ISV-type partners and more traditional VARs.

/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/

Since that time, the company moved to acquire JBoss, open up the software to distribution and create a certified

middleware

combo that includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the JBoss

Application Server

(with Apace Tomcat), the JBoss Hibernate mapping and

migration

tool and support for either MySQL Pro Certified

Server

or PostgreSQL.

\

\

And this was all before the GTDC reported a respectable uptick in Red Hat distribution sales and it appointed former IBM and Lenovo executive Mark Enzweiler as vice president of North America channel sales.

\

\

When he spoke with

CRN

earlier this fall about the middleware bundle, Troy Webb, CMO and managing partner at Incentric Solutions, a Red Hat partner in Morrisville, N.C., said his customers are more willing than ever to engage in a dialogue about open source alternatives. The JBoss bundle, in particular, offers a lower cost alternative for SMB customers that can't stomach the cost of proprietary application services.

\

\

Part of his company's interest in Red Hat is related to geography, after all, Incentric is a neighbor. But more than anything else, Webb said he appreciates the "emotional commitment" that both Red Hat CEO Matt Szulik and his employees put into their technology.

SAP
The timing of this last couldn't be more fortuitous: After more than a year on the drawing board, SAP last week started rolling out its new PartnerEdge channel program, which brings together its relationships with VARs, ISVs and other solution providers under one umbrella.

The first iteration of the program supported just partners for SAPs' midmarket software, Business One and mySAP All-In-One. It currently has about 200 partners for those lines, roughly double the number it had 18 months earlier. PartnerEdge includes three tiers, and partners can move among those levels according to points they earn for activities such as training investments, marketing campaigns and customer satisfaction.
The U.S. phase-in is planned for the first quarter of 2007.

Gary Gauba, president of ACS Systech Integrators, an SAP-exclusive software VAR acquired by Dallas-based ACS in early October and now operating as an ACS division, said SAP has significantly improved its channel strategy this year by integrating support for partners throughout the entire company. An example is the work SAP is doing with certain partners to help them certify industry applications for the SAP stack. "The vertical solutions sales is becoming more critical," he said.

Gauba has worked closely with SAP over the past four years, and before being acquired, his firm was posting 100 percent growth annually. "They are very, very partner-friendly," he said.

SAS Gets Channel-Savvy
The venerable business intelligence and analytics software company, based in Cary, N.C., has actually had a partner program for some time, but its decision to engage in formal reseller relationships this year brings it into an entirely new league.

"I applaud them for creating the VAR program," said Bridgette Chambers, vice president of enterprise business solutions at Houston-based Comsys IT Partners, which has been working with SAS since 1997 and became its first official reseller after helping it develop a contract. "The lack of a reseller relationship would really have been a competitive disadvantage for them."

That's because perceived functionality of business intelligence software and configured functionality is not always the same thing, she said.

While SAS's initial recruitment aims are modest50 VARs to start with another 50 targeted for next yearChambers said she welcomes the thoughtful, methodical approach being advocated by Miles Mahoney, vice president of strategic alliances and channels at SAS, who hails most recently from Borland Software and Crystal Decisions/Business Objects.

"The structure and support is important. SAS is very complex," she said.

/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/
/**/ /**/

SonicWall Regroups

\

A couple of years ago, this company would have qualified for our list of 75 Emerging Vendor upstarts. But its long-time dedication to resellers and recent acquisitions make it a heavyweight contender.

\

\

Former Cisco executive John DiLullo, who runs worldwide sales and spearheads overall channels strategy, and Mike Valentine, who runs the U.S. channel as part of his latest role as vice president of America sales, have both hinted that SonicWall has plenty of changes up its sleeve.

\

\

For starters, it is studying how to recognize the influence that vertical applications resellers or software developers bring to SonicWall's balance sheet. And there doubtless will be more changes related to the acquisitions late last year of Lasso Logic, a maker of continuous data protection technology, and EnKoo, which maked

remote access

products.

\

\

Dave Bennett, president of Connections for Business, a Hollywood, Fla., VAR that has committed seriously to the SonicWall

firewall

line, said some of the things that have impressed him about the vendor include its dedicated technical support and the fact that it has historically developed its products in-house, which makes it easier for him to train his own engineers. Beyond that, he said the company has done a good job of upholding margins for its partners.

\

\

"I still maintain that for a hardware appliance [maker], they have conducted admirably. They've done a very good job at keeping the price from getting eroded," Bennett said. "SonicWall has always been a pure channel player. They have never gone behind my back."

Toshiba Listens Up
Ask Toshiba executive Mark Simons about his team's biggest channel accomplishment in the past year, and he'll point to communicationsas in an ongoing two-way dialogue.

"We understand that change isn't going to happen in a month or even six months," said Simons, vice president and general manager of the Toshiba Digital Products Division.

Actually, Toshiba's new attitude has already paid off. According to the Gartner PC market share figures released in mid-October, Toshiba's U.S. PC shipments grew by 22.3 percent to 813,000 units. Its share of the market grew to 5.1 percent.

Among specific suggestions that the Toshiba team acted on during 2006: a substantial boost in rebate money.

Brian Russell, vice president of sales and marketing for CTI Solutions, a Toshiba partner in Overland Park, Kans., is one reseller reporting dramatically improved business with the vendor this year.

"Toshiba sought out channel partners' recommendations including product development, channel coverage models, programs and service," Russell said. "Toshiba has listened and implemented most of the recommendations that we have made. The results speak for themselves, over the past year, we have seen our business with Toshiba grow substantially. In fact, over the last 6 months, our business has grown more than 250 percent, and they are now our largest mobility vendor."

\

\

\

\

EMERGING HEAVYWEIGHTS
COMPANY TOP CHANNEL EXECUTIVE BIGGEST ACHIVEMENT IN 2006 TOP GOAL FOR 2007
ACER AMERICA,
San Jose, Calif.

DIRK OLSEN, Director, U.S. Commercial Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

MARK HILL, Vice President, Sales

Made it easier for partners to sell its products profitably while gaining market share organically in conjuction with distribution partners in the area of notebooks and LCDs. Improve channel support and communications for current and future partners

EMC,

\

(EMC Insignia)

\

Hopkinton, Mass.

STEVE HOUCK, Vice President, Worldwide EMC Insignia Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

LARRY ZULICH,Vice President and General Manager

Launched EMC Insignia line of products for SMBs with complementary EMC Velocity SMB Partner Program, specifically for partners selling these products. Aggressively grow EMC's market share in the SMB segment

HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS,

\

Santa Clara, Calif

KAREN SIGMAN ,Vice President, Global Channels

\

REPORTS TO:

\

SCOTT GENEREUX,

\

Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Support

Expanded midmarket partner base "significantly" in all global regions; added more than 1,000 new partners for small and midsize enterprises. Continued expansion into small and midsize enterprises through volume distribution and server partners; focus on improving partners' ability to attach more services to solutions.

JUNIPER NETWORKS,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

FRANK VITAGLIANO,Vice President, Worldwide Channels and U.S. Enterprise Operations

\

REPORTS TO:

\

EDDIE MINSHULL,

\

Executive Vice President, Worldwide Field Operations

Unified direct-touch and channel-touch sales teams into a unified organization under a single executive (Vitagliano) Grow mutual revenue and profits with solution provider partners and manufacturer alliances

NETWORK APPLIANCE,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

LEONARD IVENTOSCH,Vice President, Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

GEORGE BENNETT,

\

Senior Vice President, Sales

Introduced incentive programs such as funded head count, FastPath partner recruitment effort and enhanced margin opportunities. Collaborate with partners to drive more solution design, sales, installation, support and services

RED HAT,

\

Raleigh, N.C.

MARK ENZWEILER ,Vice President, North American Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

ED BOYAJIAN,

\

Vice President, Strategic Alliances

Expanded reseller relationships through Red Hat Advanced Business Partner Program Transform current sales strategy into a truly channel-led go-to-market model.

SAP,

\

Walldorf, Germany

DONNA TROY,Senior Vice President, Global Small and Midsize Business, SAP AG

\

REPORTS TO:

\

LEO APOTHEKER,

\

Executive Board Member and President, Customer Solutions SAP AG

Invested in channel enablement efforts including e-learning, an online partner collaboration network, and sales training and education for partners serving small and midsize customers. SAP has a goal of reaching 100,000 customers by 2010, so 2007 will be about solution expansion, recruiting the right partners in each market and fine-tuning new channel processes and programs.

SAS,

\

Cary, N.C.

MILES MAHONEY,Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Channels

\

REPORTS TO:

\

JIM DAVIS,

\

Chief Marketing Officer

Launching reseller program and signed 50 top business intelligence VARs. Reach 100 resellers contributing 10 percent of SAS incremental new license revenue.

SONICWALL,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

JOHN DILULLO ,Vice President, Worldwide Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

MATT MEDEIROS,

\

President and CEO

Moved into a broader swath of security products, adopted subscription services as part of channel business proposition. Grow partner profitability.

TOSHIBA,

\

Irvine, Calif.

JERRY LUMPKIN ,Vice President,Business Channel Sales, Digital Products Division

\

REPORTS TO:

\

PATRICK MANI,

\

Vice President, Field Sales

Addressed lingering channel concerns about program consistency, price and availability; increased rebated dollars and demo unit availability. Extend renewed dialogue with partners and collaborate on growing need for mobility products and solutions specifically designed for small businesses.

Want to quibble with our choices or simply recognize another emerging vendor doing a great job with the channel? Solution providers and other IT service providers are welcome to e-mail CRN Editor Heather Clancy at [email protected] .

AD
id unit-1659132512259
type Sponsored post
/**/ /**/
EMERGING HEAVYWEIGHTS
COMPANY
TOP CHANNEL EXECUTIVE
BIGGEST ACHIVEMENT IN 2006
TOP GOAL FOR 2007
ACER AMERICA,
San Jose, Calif.

DIRK OLSEN, Director, U.S. Commercial Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

MARK HILL, Vice President, Sales

Made it easier for partners to sell its products profitably while gaining market share organically in conjuction with distribution partners in the area of notebooks and LCDs.
Improve channel support and communications for current and future partners

EMC,

\

(EMC Insignia)

\

Hopkinton, Mass.

STEVE HOUCK, Vice President, Worldwide EMC Insignia Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

LARRY ZULICH,Vice President and General Manager

Launched EMC Insignia line of products for SMBs with complementary EMC Velocity SMB Partner Program, specifically for partners selling these products.
Aggressively grow EMC's market share in the SMB segment

HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS,

\

Santa Clara, Calif

KAREN SIGMAN ,Vice President, Global Channels

\

REPORTS TO:

\

SCOTT GENEREUX,

\

Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Support

Expanded midmarket partner base "significantly" in all global regions; added more than 1,000 new partners for small and midsize enterprises.
Continued expansion into small and midsize enterprises through volume distribution and server partners; focus on improving partners' ability to attach more services to solutions.

JUNIPER NETWORKS,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

FRANK VITAGLIANO,Vice President, Worldwide Channels and U.S. Enterprise Operations

\

REPORTS TO:

\

EDDIE MINSHULL,

\

Executive Vice President, Worldwide Field Operations

Unified direct-touch and channel-touch sales teams into a unified organization under a single executive (Vitagliano)
Grow mutual revenue and profits with solution provider partners and manufacturer alliances

NETWORK APPLIANCE,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

LEONARD IVENTOSCH,Vice President, Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

GEORGE BENNETT,

\

Senior Vice President, Sales

Introduced incentive programs such as funded head count, FastPath partner recruitment effort and enhanced margin opportunities.
Collaborate with partners to drive more solution design, sales, installation, support and services

RED HAT,

\

Raleigh, N.C.

MARK ENZWEILER ,Vice President, North American Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

ED BOYAJIAN,

\

Vice President, Strategic Alliances

Expanded reseller relationships through Red Hat Advanced Business Partner Program
Transform current sales strategy into a truly channel-led go-to-market model.

SAP,

\

Walldorf, Germany

DONNA TROY,Senior Vice President, Global Small and Midsize Business, SAP AG

\

REPORTS TO:

\

LEO APOTHEKER,

\

Executive Board Member and President, Customer Solutions SAP AG

Invested in channel enablement efforts including e-learning, an online partner collaboration network, and sales training and education for partners serving small and midsize customers.
SAP has a goal of reaching 100,000 customers by 2010, so 2007 will be about solution expansion, recruiting the right partners in each market and fine-tuning new channel processes and programs.

SAS,

\

Cary, N.C.

MILES MAHONEY,Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Channels

\

REPORTS TO:

\

JIM DAVIS,

\

Chief Marketing Officer

Launching reseller program and signed 50 top business intelligence VARs.
Reach 100 resellers contributing 10 percent of SAS incremental new license revenue.

SONICWALL,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

JOHN DILULLO ,Vice President, Worldwide Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

MATT MEDEIROS,

\

President and CEO

Moved into a broader swath of security products, adopted subscription services as part of channel business proposition.
Grow partner profitability.

TOSHIBA,

\

Irvine, Calif.

JERRY LUMPKIN ,Vice President,Business Channel Sales, Digital Products Division

\

REPORTS TO:

\

PATRICK MANI,

\

Vice President, Field Sales

Addressed lingering channel concerns about program consistency, price and availability; increased rebated dollars and demo unit availability.
Extend renewed dialogue with partners and collaborate on growing need for mobility products and solutions specifically designed for small businesses.
/**/ /**/
EMERGING HEAVYWEIGHTS
COMPANY
TOP CHANNEL EXECUTIVE
BIGGEST ACHIVEMENT IN 2006
TOP GOAL FOR 2007
ACER AMERICA,
San Jose, Calif.

DIRK OLSEN, Director, U.S. Commercial Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

MARK HILL, Vice President, Sales

Made it easier for partners to sell its products profitably while gaining market share organically in conjuction with distribution partners in the area of notebooks and LCDs.
Improve channel support and communications for current and future partners

EMC,

\

(EMC Insignia)

\

Hopkinton, Mass.

STEVE HOUCK, Vice President, Worldwide EMC Insignia Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

LARRY ZULICH,Vice President and General Manager

Launched EMC Insignia line of products for SMBs with complementary EMC Velocity SMB Partner Program, specifically for partners selling these products.
Aggressively grow EMC's market share in the SMB segment

HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS,

\

Santa Clara, Calif

KAREN SIGMAN ,Vice President, Global Channels

\

REPORTS TO:

\

SCOTT GENEREUX,

\

Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Support

Expanded midmarket partner base "significantly" in all global regions; added more than 1,000 new partners for small and midsize enterprises.
Continued expansion into small and midsize enterprises through volume distribution and server partners; focus on improving partners' ability to attach more services to solutions.

JUNIPER NETWORKS,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

FRANK VITAGLIANO,Vice President, Worldwide Channels and U.S. Enterprise Operations

\

REPORTS TO:

\

EDDIE MINSHULL,

\

Executive Vice President, Worldwide Field Operations

Unified direct-touch and channel-touch sales teams into a unified organization under a single executive (Vitagliano)
Grow mutual revenue and profits with solution provider partners and manufacturer alliances

NETWORK APPLIANCE,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

LEONARD IVENTOSCH,Vice President, Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

GEORGE BENNETT,

\

Senior Vice President, Sales

Introduced incentive programs such as funded head count, FastPath partner recruitment effort and enhanced margin opportunities.
Collaborate with partners to drive more solution design, sales, installation, support and services

RED HAT,

\

Raleigh, N.C.

MARK ENZWEILER ,Vice President, North American Channel Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

ED BOYAJIAN,

\

Vice President, Strategic Alliances

Expanded reseller relationships through Red Hat Advanced Business Partner Program
Transform current sales strategy into a truly channel-led go-to-market model.

SAP,

\

Walldorf, Germany

DONNA TROY,Senior Vice President, Global Small and Midsize Business, SAP AG

\

REPORTS TO:

\

LEO APOTHEKER,

\

Executive Board Member and President, Customer Solutions SAP AG

Invested in channel enablement efforts including e-learning, an online partner collaboration network, and sales training and education for partners serving small and midsize customers.
SAP has a goal of reaching 100,000 customers by 2010, so 2007 will be about solution expansion, recruiting the right partners in each market and fine-tuning new channel processes and programs.

SAS,

\

Cary, N.C.

MILES MAHONEY,Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Channels

\

REPORTS TO:

\

JIM DAVIS,

\

Chief Marketing Officer

Launching reseller program and signed 50 top business intelligence VARs.
Reach 100 resellers contributing 10 percent of SAS incremental new license revenue.

SONICWALL,

\

Sunnyvale, Calif.

JOHN DILULLO ,Vice President, Worldwide Sales

\

REPORTS TO:

\

MATT MEDEIROS,

\

President and CEO

Moved into a broader swath of security products, adopted subscription services as part of channel business proposition.
Grow partner profitability.

TOSHIBA,

\

Irvine, Calif.

JERRY LUMPKIN ,Vice President,Business Channel Sales, Digital Products Division

\

REPORTS TO:

\

PATRICK MANI,

\

Vice President, Field Sales

Addressed lingering channel concerns about program consistency, price and availability; increased rebated dollars and demo unit availability.
Extend renewed dialogue with partners and collaborate on growing need for mobility products and solutions specifically designed for small businesses.