NetApp hosted its seventh annual NetApp EMEA Partner and Pathways Summit in Venice this year from 17 to 19 June, an exclusive partner event for top executives from NetApp’s most important channel partners around EMEA.
The two-day programme has been designed to provide latest updates to the partner community, and to offer the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss go-to-market strategies, and to network together. The event was highlighted by the EMEA Partner Performance and Innovation Awards covering seven categories across EMEA.
“We know that all our partners are committed to the pursuit of performance excellence, innovation and quality,” says Thomas Ehrlich, VP, Partners and Pathways EMEA, NetApp.
“To recognise those partners who go beyond the call of duty for their customers and demonstrate success at the highest level, we wanted to showcase their achievements and acknowledge their outstanding performance with this year’s awards.”
The awards programme rewards NetApp partners for their contribution to the growth of the EMEA business. The winners will enjoy a range of business and marketing benefits, including significant marketing funding.
In addition, as social responsibility is part of NetApp’s corporate culture, a charitable donation of €7 500 will be given to the International Red Cross on behalf of the winner Bytes System Integration based in South Africa.
The winners of the NetApp EMEA Partner Performance and Innovation Awards 2013 are as following:
* EMEA Enterprise Market Partner of the Year – Computacenter, Germany;
* EMEA Midsize Market Partner of the Year – BilgiTurk, Turkey;
* EMEA Distributor of the Year – Altimate, Spain;
* EMEA Professional Services Certified Partner of the Year – Bytes System Integration, South Africa;
* EMEA Support Service Partner of the Year – ANS Group, UK;
* EMEA FlexPod and ExpressPod Partner of the Year – ANS Group, UK; and
* EMEA Partner Marketing Campaign of the Year – Fujitsu, UK&I.
Partners eligible for one of the seven awards were chosen due to their “go beyond” mentality and success with NetApp. Different areas of cooperation were taken into consideration such as technical knowledge, customer care and approachability, outstanding contributions to selected account business, customer wins, or evangelisation effort at the customer side.
“All over EMEA, partners are the single most important bridge to the customers. Not only do they support every step of the buyer’s journey, they are also the first go-to point when issues need to be addressed.
“To show our gratitude and on-going commitment, exceptional partners are presented with a NetApp EMEA Partner Performance and Innovation award, highlighting those teams that go the extra mile to drive NetApp business in their respective markets,” says Manfred Reitner, NetApp senior VP and GM EMEA, NetApp.