2021 Partner Program Guide: 5-Star Systems And Data Center Programs

As part of the Partner Program Guide, CRN designates some vendor channel programs as 5-Star Partner Programs. Here are the 5-Star designees in the systems and data center space for 2021.

A Systems-Wide Approach

IT vendors spent much of 2020 helping channel partners make their way through the COVID-19 crisis, providing financial flexibility amid the sudden economic uncertainty and creating ways for partners to market and sell their products and services in a no-contact world.

But despite the challenging year, many IT companies have continued to expand and improve their channel partner programs, offering solution provider partners the support, resources and incentives they need to be successful as the economy improves.

That includes IT vendors who develop IT hardware and software used to power and manage the data centers at the core of the IT systems for many businesses and organizations.

The CRN 2021 Partner Program Guide offers the information solution providers need to evaluate the channel programs operated by the IT vendors they work with or are considering partnering with. The guide is based on detailed applications submitted by vendors – more than 275 this year – outlining all aspects of their partner programs.

As part of the Partner Program Guide, CRN designates some programs as 5-Star Partner Programs because they provide the most comprehensive lineups of incentives, training, services and benefits.

Here we provide snapshots of the 5-Star designees in the system and data center space. Details of every vendor’s partner program can be found at /partner-program-guide/ppg2021.htm.

Other slide shows in the 5-Star Partner Program Guide series running this week will include companies that provide products and services for networking and unified communications, cloud platforms and infrastructure, software and applications, security, devices and peripherals, and data storage and backup. While many companies provide products and services that span multiple technologies, we’ve assigned each vendor to the slide show for the technology category in which they are most prominent.

CyberPower

Program Name: CyberPower Channel Partner Alliance

Year Program Established: 2016

Channel Chief: Scott W, Koller, VP, Channel Sales

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: CyberPower is focused on efficiently getting MDF into the hands of top-performing partners to help grow their power business and launching out-of-the box marketing campaigns and initiatives.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=64

Dell Technologies

Program Name: Dell Technologies Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2017

Channel Chief: Rola Dagher, Global Channel Chief

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Dell is focused on increased partner opportunity for new customer and line-of-business acquisition, accelerated growth and profit potential with further access to the portfolio, and a streamlined end-to-end experience.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=68

Eaton

Program Name: PowerAdvantage Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2009

Channel Chief: Herve Tardy, VP, GM, Distributed Power Quality Division

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Eaton has new programs to help partners power through the impacts of COVID-19 while adding value to their customers, providing them with free remote monitoring license trials and extended channel flooring programs for 90 days.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=73

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Program Name: HPE Partner Ready Program

Year Program Established: 2002

Channel Chief: George Hope, Worldwide Head of Partner Sales

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: In 2021 HPE will have more partners embarking on as-a-service journeys. The company wants to drive continued partner profitability and reward partners who are aligning investments to HPE’s strategy.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=95

IBM

Program Name: IBM PartnerWorld Program

Year Program Established: 1999

Channel Chief: David La Rose, GM, IBM Partner Ecosystem

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: The reimagined PartnerWorld Program aligns to Build, Service and Sell. New Build and Service tracks provide tailored benefits and offers.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=99

Intel

Program Name: Intel Partner Alliance

Year Program Established: 2021

Channel Chief: John Kalvin, VP, GM, Global Scale, Partners

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Key for 2021 will be on-boarding all partners from the legacy programs and recruiting new partners. Other top goals include driving training and competencies and creating a valuable experience with the Intel Solutions Marketplace.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=110

iXsystems

Program Name: TrueNAS Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2015

Channel Chief: Brett Davis, EVP

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: iXsystems experienced 100 percent year-over-year growth in its reseller channel in 2020 and expects another year of 100 percent growth in 2021.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=117

Legrand – Raritan and Server Technology

Program Name: Raritan and Server Technology Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2002

Channel Chief: Mike Johnston, VP, Channel Sales

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Legrand is overhauling its partner portal to allow for inclusion of new solutions from acquisitions. The company has increased content syndication and digital tools for partners and added channel support to ensure ease of doing business.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=125

Lenovo

Program Name: Lenovo Partner Engage Program, Data Center Group

Year Program Established: 2005

Channel Chief: Steve Biondi, North America Channel Chief, Data Center Group

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Lenovo is continuing to accelerate its “Channel First” position, which is simple but foundational to what the company does every day. Partners know they have a constant supply of opportunities due to this mantra.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=126

Liqid

Program Name: Liqid Channel Partner Progra

Year Program Established: 2020

Channel Chief: Nader Soudah, VP, Channel

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: In the past year Liqid has doubled the size of its workforce and forecasts suggest similar growth in 2021. Its biggest investment in 2021 will be in talent to drive aggressive channel growth.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=130

NEC Corporation of America

Program Name: NEC Smart Partner Program for Solutions Integrators

Year Program Established: 2004

Channel Chief: Paul Kievit, SVP, Head of Enterprise Business

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: NEC enables partners to sell a suite of communications and IT solutions and cloud-based applications they way they want. It offers personalized sales and marketing support, high margins, low-density sales territories and deal registration protection.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=141

Nutanix

Program Name: Nutanix Elevate Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2020

Channel Chief: Christian Goffi, VP, Channel Sales, Americas

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: 2021 brings new optimizations to the Elevate Program, focusing on partner autonomy to drive sales cycle acceleration. Nutanix is helping partners transform their revenue horizons with Nutanix solution specialization enablement tracks.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=151

Nvidia

Program Name: Nvidia Partner Network

Year Program Established: 2014

Channel Chief: Alvin DaCosta, VP, Worldwide Partner Organization

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Nvidia this year is developing a strategy for – and launching – an ISV Partner Program. It also aims to grow vertical industry-specific competencies and enhance the Professional Services Partner Program.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=152

Scale Computing

Program Name: Scale Computing Partner Community

Year Program Established: 2016

Channel Chief: Dave Hallmen, Chief Revenue Officer

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Scale Computing wants to continue to better enable partners, giving them the tools and resources they need to be self-sufficient through the sales cycle and post-installation.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=199

Schneider Electric

Program Name: mySchneider IT Solutions Partner Program

Year Program Established: 1991

Channel Chief: Shannon Sbar, VP, Channels, North America

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Schneider Electric took deliberate steps to simplify and improve its Opportunity Registration Program. It increased discounts, decreased revenue minimums and did away with complicated tiers to make it easier to protect partners.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=13

Schneider Electric

Program Name: EcoXpert Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2015

Channel Chief: Virginie Milhaud, EcoXpert Program Director

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Schneider Electric will continue to enable partner business expansion by ensuring and supporting development into new applications and technologies.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=200

Schneider Electric Industries SAS

Program Name: myschneider Panel Builder Program

Year Program Established: 2019

Channel Chief: Lou Adlerfligel, Global Head – of Panel Builder Channel

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: The company launched digital tools to simplify workload and expedite projects with a focus on driving transformation, generating more business and increasing engagement.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=201

Tripp Lite

Program Name: Tripp Lite Partner Program & Premier Partner Program

Year Program Established: 1998

Channel Chief: Shane Kilfoil, SVP, Global Sales, Marketing

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Tripp Lite is working to ensure partners have the flexibility to adapt to rapidly evolving market dynamics and the creativity to build engagement and retention strategies to differentiate themselves.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=250

Vertiv

Program Name: Vertiv Partner Program

Year Program Established: 2016

Channel Chief: Peter Klanian, VP, Americas Channel

Companies reveal their partner program goals for 2021: Vertiv is doubling down on its commitment to making it easy for partners to sell Vertiv offerings and drive higher margins. This includes a more robust product configurator platform that provides reference designs and guarantees compatibility.

Partner Program Details: /partner-program-guide/ppg2021-details.htm?c=264