Intel Adds Mandatory Training To New Partner Program

Intel has instituted mandatory training for channel partners looking to move up and earn more benefits in Intel's new Technology Provider program.

In an interview Monday at Intel Solutions Summit in Las Vegas, Steve Dallman, Intel vice president and general manager of Intel's worldwide reseller organization, said that under the rules of Intel's new program, training will determine whether a partner has entry-level Registered status or Gold-level status. Without offering exact figures, Dallman said Intel doesn't want to have 50,000 Premier level partners -- the highest level of Intel's current solution provider program, equivalent to the "Platinum" level under the new program. In addition, he said Intel's partners must receive training in order stay competitive in the increasingly crowded market.

"There's a strategic necessity as well," Dallman said. "If I were a Premier today I could likely get tossed out of the Platinum program because they need to do the training right now. We need to have the right levels of expertise."

Dallman said Intel sees the shift toward an emphasis in training in its new unified Intel Technology Provider channel program as a response to trends in the IT industry.

"Another strategic reason for doing this is that new segments are opening up -- new security applications and digital signage solutions and other things," Dallman said. "Partners need to go get trained cause it’s a little outside of their normal areas."

The new program includes face-to-face training opportunities, a new Platform Workshop in which Intel will roll out its new architectures for partners to work with ahead of time, and the Virtual Intel Channel Conference. Intel will also offer self-paced online training to partners in all three levels. Intel says the program will integrate Intel's embedded and compute technologies, as well as its efforts in non-traditional segments under a single umbrella.

"By elevating the need for training and making it a qualification for Platinum, we'll have our partners learn about these new segments to get into, Dallman said. "We're going to make some investment in showing what can be done there."

Dallman said that some partners will not be able to adapt to trends in technology, as has been the case throughout the evolution of the IT industry. "The saddest thing in my life, one of the things that has caused me personal grief, is the number of channel guys who we've seen who've failed to adapt," he said. "There's some that can adapt to the new way of doing things and others who can't."

Next: The Location Factor

For Platinum-level channel partners, Intel expects to maintain the same revenue requirements it previously set for its Premier level, although it varies somewhat based on regional location, Dallman said. "We want to have Premier partners in Asia," he said, "But they may not have the volume we expect from partners in Germany, for example."

Dallman said that Intel will determine the extent of its business activities in each region based on whether its partners there have a business plan to achieve what Intel expects them to in order to grow their business. "We may say let's go make it 50,000 partners per level, for a year or so," Dallman said. "Then depending on how that works, we may move it to a 100,000."

James Huang, product marketing manager at AMAX, a Fremont, Calif.-based system builder, says Intel's overall focus on training will be beneficial to its established channel partners, including system integrators.

"Partners will benefit from training because it will allow us to benefit from knowledge of new technology, introduce Intel's products and services to new markets, and further penetrate the markets we're in," Huang said. "We will give them feedback as a member of the channel as to what works and doesn't work. So far, they have been listening to the channel."

Another system builder and Intel channel partner in attendance at ISS said that industry disruption is causing a major shift -- and that partners will have to evolve with the times in order to survive.

"Change is coming and we have to adopt that," said the partner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We can't say no, that's our bottom line. If you say 'no' to the changes to the new program, you're out of it. Intel will not support you."

The partner said Intel had yet to offer details of its training program, including how many individuals were required to receive the training.

"This is the first time we're seeing Intel use training as the criteria for members at a certain level, although we're used to other vendors doing that with their programs," the partner said. "We'll have to adopt it, review it, and assign team members to get that training, and we'll have to do it in timely fashion."