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When solution providers partner with a vendor, they're looking for more than just another supplier of computer hardware or software. They're looking for a business partner, an ally with whom they can fight the good fight in today's competitive markets.
So what has your vendor done for you lately? Sure, the technology itself is important: Any product that's not innovative or doesn't provide value to customers is a non-starter. And margins offered by vendors are also important: VARs that can't earn a decent profit on a product won't be in business for very long.
But a successful vendor partnership must go beyond-way beyond-good margins and solid products. It starts with how a vendor recruits channel partners and includes pre- and post-sales support, marketing efforts, training and partner communications, among other initiatives.
"The most important thing a vendor can do is dance with us," said Rolf Strasheim, director of client solutions at Peak Uptime, a Tulsa, Okla.-based solution provider that partners with storage equipment vendors such as Network Appliance Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., and Overland Storage, San Diego. Any potential vendor partner has to, first, have a top quality product that allows Peak Uptime to make a decent profit, he said, but above, all it's important that they make a commitment to their channel partners.
So it is with great pride that we offer this year's VARBusiness Partner Programs Guide and the Five-Star Partner Programs awards that recognize those vendors with the most comprehensive channel offerings for their particular markets and technology sets. Silver and gold-star winners have listened to their partners and assembled programs that offer key elements for channel success.
(Vendors that excelled in specific partner program criteria such as sales support, marketing support, partner profitability, channel operations, communications and partner recruitment earned silver stars for each element, while those with overall top-notch partner programs won gold stars. For a detailed description of the judging methodology see page 40.)
It's hard to find a vendor that isn't good at something when it comes to partnering with solution providers. Of the 125 vendors that applied for this year's guide, most won at least one silver star for some aspect of their partner program, such as Ricoh Americas Corp. (West Caldwell, N.J.) for partner profitability, Autodesk Inc....