Changing market dynamics, growing demand for new technologies such as cloud or flash, and new buying patterns require a flexible approach to selling IT solutions. More than ever partners are forced to adapt their business models and diversify their capabilities to meet customers’ complex IT challenges, while ensuring continued business strength.
To drive agility and profitability for its partners, NetApp now has taken its proven NetApp Partner Programme to the next level. It is shaped to support partners to evolve capabilities without limits, to make doing business with NetApp as easy as never before, and to help expand the reach of a partner’s business.
To help partners capitalise on new opportunities and better serve customers’ needs, NetApp fundamentally streamlined processes and introduces:
* One programme that supports how partners want to evolve their business; and
* One contract for resellers, regional service providers, regional systems integrators and vertical solution integrators with access to the same incentives and support for current and future capabilities.
The shift to a one-program-model puts the partner into the driver’s seat: partners can add or adapt capabilities without being confined to different programs and their requirements.
The new programme structure overcomes the previous business model definition with its silo approach and encourages partners to follow the right path for business growth – without barriers or boundaries and at the right point in time. Now, a value-added reseller can also be a service provider, and a service provider can also be a systems integrator without changing contracts or losing benefits in their current programme.
Together with the one-program-model, NetApp simplifies its agreement policies and now offers one simplified contract for resellers, regional service providers/systems integrators, and vertical solution integrators.
Partners can choose to remain in their current contracts or switch any time to benefit from NetApp’s support to acquire new capabilities, including cloud, services and support, specialisations for FlexPod, SAP and VDI, and clustered Data ONTAP.
The NetApp Partner Programme fully supports as well global systems integrator and global service provider partners, consultants and distributors. Partners are now recognised for their actual capabilities, not programme membership.
“We want to enable partners to go-to-market in the way that they want to and to be able to choose the best blend of products and services that address the changing business needs that their customers have,” says Peter Howard, VP Global Channel Sales, NetApp.
“By doing this, NetApp continues our proven legacy of innovation over the years and our reputation for delivering a consistent, predictable and profitable partner programme. Partners are the business for NetApp. This is not a new program, but the evolution of the same programme we have been recognised for globally for years.”
NetApp is also updating its rich tool set for partners, including the launch of a searchable online Partner Directory on the company’s Web site. It will concentrate partner related information under one landing page.
Extensive search functions will help customers and NetApp field teams to find the right partner through combinations of solutions, capabilities, services offerings, location, and more.
The new tool will also serve partners to promote publicly all the capabilities they offer and expand the reach of their business.
“We encourage our partners to invest in the future of their business with NetApp and value and reward all efforts in a completely new way,” says Thomas Ehrlich, VP, Partners and Pathways EMEA, NetApp.
“Wherever a partner stands today, he can choose his destination and we will travel the journey together. More agility on various levels and simplified ways to profitability are key to success in today’s dynamic business environment. The current programme outline is a great step forward in further improving our partnerships for the benefit of our joint customers.”
The evolved NetApp Partner Programme is already in place today. Partners who are interested in the new model, find all necessary information in NetApp Field Portal, the vendor’s dedicated web platform for partners. The searchable online Partner Directory will be launched in September 2013.