2015 Partner Program Guide: 5-Star System Vendors

Systemic Approach

Hardware systems remain at the core of today's IT networks -- and so they remain a core part of the channel. But as the technology evolves with converged infrastructure systems and other innovations, solution providers must move quickly to identify the opportunities and threats posed by the new computing technologies and, if possible, capitalize on them. That can mean a greater need for technical, marketing, sales and financial assistance from IT vendors.

The 2015 Partner Program Guide offers the information solution providers need to evaluate IT vendors they work with or are considering working with. The guide is based on detailed applications vendors submitted outlining all aspects of their partner programs.

As part of the Partner Program Guide, CRN designates some programs as 5-Star Partner Programs. Here we present the 5-Star designees in the systems space.

Accelerite

Program Name: Accelerite Partner program

Year Program Established: 2007

Number of North American Partners: 500

North American Channel Chief: Eric Webster

URL: www.accelerite.com

Cisco Systems

Program Name: Cisco Solution Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2014

Number of North American Partners: 497

North American Channel Chief: Wendy Bahr

URL: www.cisco.com

Cisco Systems

Program Name: Cisco Channel Partner Program

Year Program Established: 1996

Number of North American Partners: 20,438

North American Channel Chief: Wendy Bahr

URL: www.cisco.com

Dell

Program Name: Dell PartnerDirect

Year Program Established: 2007

Number of North American Partners: 55,000

North American Channel Chief: Jim DeFoe

URL: www.dell.com

Hewlett-Packard

Program Name: HP PartnerOne

Year Program Established: 2002

Number of North American Partners: 40,000

North American Channel Chief: Scott Dunsire

URL: www.hp.com

Hitachi Data Systems

Program Name: Hitachi TrueNorth Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2003

Number of North American Partners: 560

North American Channel Chief: Christopher White

URL: www.hds.com

IBM

Program Name: IBM PartnerWorld

Year Program Established: 1999

Number of North American Partners: 32,382

North American Channel Chief: Tami Duncan

URL: www.ibm.com

Intel

Program Name: Intel Technology Provider Program

Year Program Established: 1980

Number of North American Partners: 23,692

North American Channel Chief: Todd Garrigues

URL: www.intel.com

Juniper Networks

Program Name: Juniper Networks Partner Advantage

Year Program Established: 2012

Number of North American Partners: 11,635

North American Channel Chief: Jonathan Belcher

URL: www.juniper.net

Lenovo

Program Name: Lenovo Partner Network

Year Program Established: 2006

Number of North American Partners: 29,000

North American Channel Chief: Sammy Kinlaw

URL: www.lenovo.com

Microsoft

Program Name: Microsoft Partner Network

Year Program Established: 2010

Number of North American Partners: Not Disclosed

North American Channel Chief: Jenni Flinders

URL: www.microsoft.com

Nutanix

Program Name: Nutanix Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2013

Number of North American Partners: 600

North American Channel Chief: Steve Kaplan

URL: www.nutanix.com

Oracle

Program Name: Oracle PartnerNetwork

Year Program Established: 1999

Number of North American Partners: 5,400

North American Channel Chief: Tom LaRocca

URL: www.oracle.com

Samsung Electronics America

Program Name: STEP (Samsung Team of Empowered Partners)

Year Program Established: 2014

Number of North American Partners: 13,000

North American Channel Chief: Richard Hutton

URL: www.samsung.com/business

ServiceKey

Program Name: Independent Service & Maintenance Organization (ISMO Program)

Year Program Established: 2004

Number of North American Partners: 251

North American Channel Chief: Danielle Thiery

URL: www.servicekey.com

SimpliVity

Program Name: SimpliVity PartnerAdvantage

Year Program Established: 2014

Number of North American Partners: 250

North American Channel Chief: George Hope

URL: www.simplivity.com

Toshiba America Information Systems, Business Solutions Division

Program Name: Toshiba Preferred Partner Program

Year Program Established: 1985

Number of North American Partners: 3,000

North American Channel Chief: Richard Vaughn

URL: www.toshiba.com/us