Citrix Channel Program Targets Enterprise Accounts

The Citrix Global 2000 Program provides extra financial incentive to partners who succeed in selling deeper into enterprise accounts, said Alan Smith, founder and CEO of ThinApse, a Citrix Platinum solution provider based in Vancouver.

"An ideal sale would be a 50,000-user company that uses Citrix today only to deploy PeopleSoft to 1,000 desktops, and we go in and pick up the additional 49,000 users," Smith said. "It makes sure that the guys who add the value get the compensation."

The program encourages partners to focus on solutions-based sales rather than on pushing licenses, he said.

Partners also receive extra compensation for qualified new business, Smith said.

The program, initially targeted at the 1,000 largest North American-based customers, also provides benefits to clients, such as improved pricing options and account management, according to Citrix.

"It gives our channel partners greater incentive to pursue sales in large enterprises, a key growth area for Citrix," said David Jones, senior vice president of marketing and development for Citrix, based here, in a statement

Shares of Citrix lost nearly 8 percent of their value Tuesday, closing down $1.24 at $15.02, one day after the company said it expected to miss first-quarter earnings estimates.

Citrix said it expects to report pro forma earnings of 15 cents or 16 cents per share. Wall Street analysts expected pro forma earnings of 17 cents per share, according to First Call/Thompson Financial.

The company expects to report revenue in the range of $141 million to $143 million, up from $132.8 million the same quarter a year ago.

Citrix product licensing during the quarter increased compared to the same quarter last year but decreased more than expected when compared to the fourth quarter, said Mark Templeton, president and CEO, during a conference call.

"We believe this is a reflection of the overall state of spending within the IT market," Templeton said.

Citrix plans to release first-quarter results on April 24.