IndependenceIT CEO: Partners Can See A 50 Percent Margin With New Partner Program

Software provider IndependenceIT is lifting the curtain on a new, two-tier partner program that includes training, marketing support and priority technical support for entry-level partners.

It also offers MSP referrals for elite partners who build their own platforms and channel programs off of IndependenceIT's integrated workspace automation software platform.

The program, said IndependenceIT CEO Seth Bostock, along with the company's automation software can save partners enough money that they have the potential to see a 50 percent margin on Software-as-a-Service products.

[Related: IndependenceIT Wins Major Partner Victory Over Citrix With nGenx]

Bostock said the volume pricing schedule on the software side of the business allows partners that get significant traction to gain better pricing with the company. He added that through the schedule, providers are buying at a published price of $7.50 per user per month from IndependenceIT. However, that amount can be cut down, adding a dollar or more to savings margins for the partner.

If a company adds those higher margins to the savings across the business that companies can experience by using the automated systems IndependenceIT provides, Bostock said, there is a significant savings that can be made.

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He said some of the larger companies like Citrix give a partner 8 percent to 12 percent margins. But, he said, "that is not enough. The channel community has always built solutions that have done better."

Bostock said that some of IndependenceIT's partners have been able to achieve 50 percent margins.

"That is a pretty big difference," he said.

Josh Dinneen, executive vice president of Norwood, Mass.-based Corporate IT Solutions, said that he has yet to see a large difference in margins for his company, but said he believes joining the IndependenceIT partner program as an elite partner has improved business for him.

He said IndependenceIT has improved his company's sales enablement and by utilizing its scalable licensing structure, he has been able to save money. "You only pay for in-month what you use," he said, and added, that the ability to scale "really helps us by limiting the liability from a partner program perspective."

Bostock said the program will further showcase his company's "100 percent commitment to the channel," and will help the company's goal of "achieving continued success for our partners."

Bostock said that the new partner program is changing IndependenceIT's business model by splitting its customer base into two tiers. The first tier in the IndependenceIT partner program includes all companies that wish to license software from IndependenceIT in order to resell.

The second tier, called the elite partner tier, however, is open only to companies that integrate their own intellectual property into the IndependenceIT API and build their own platforms that are made available in their own channel. The second tier must maintain a minimum sales volume to remain in the program.

Dinneen said he and his company decided to utilize IndependenceIT's solutions because it "has a true, dedicated focus on MSPs."

Along with the new program, Independence has also created two teams for partners in the program to use in order to help their sales.

The technical account management team, or TAM, will assist partners with training, coaching and understanding different elements of the software. According to Bostock, this team is a partner's No. 1 contact for all technical inquiries and can even help partners architect a solution for their end customers.

The second group that was recently kick-started by IndependenceIT as part of its new partner program is the professional services group, which is dedicated to assisting with migrations, on-boarding and additional training services for partners.

Bostock said that these groups were created to keep focus on the partner community as IndependenceIT continues to grow. He said that he believes it is important to keep perspective, and that these groups "are a step in the right direction."

"The key to our business," he said, "is that we are committed to providing great technology, and we are 100 percent committed to the channel," Bostock said.

PUBLISHED AUG. 10, 2015