New and expanded capabilities for the PartnerWorld program are the result of IBM’s investment in its channel this past year. Benefits are delivered at no cost and offer partners new ways to earn points and speed their member level advancement.
New program benefits are as follows:
- IBM is extending executive relationship coverage to Premier and Software Value Plus authorized business partners. This benefit is in addition to other established relationships such as the Software Lab Advocate program for Software Value Plus partners. The relationship executive will support the business partner at their headquarters with strategic initiatives with IBM.†
- Business partners can take advantage of additional phone, Web, and live chat services for support with marketing, sales, training, and technical issues.
- Advanced, Premier, and Software Value Plus partners will have access to no-cost Market Insights research reports from both IBM and external vendors, providing prescriptive market intelligence and industry trend data to help improve decision making.†
- The new IBM business partner locator enables clients, prospects, and partners to more easily identify IBM partners, and searches by capabilities, expertise, and Software Value Plus partners. The interface uses Google maps’ mash-up capability and a partner profile comparison solution.
- A new System x Specialty is intended to help partners expand their System x sales, technical, and solutions skills through education, testing, and learning resources. Achieving the System x Specialty qualifies partners for enhanced technical support,†participation in targeted sales programs, and industry recognition through the System x Specialty mark.
IBM has also simplified the requirements for advancement through PartnerWorld levels. Partners earn points for certification and progressively higher points for advanced and expert technical certifications. These are the same certifications currently used toward other attainments such as Software Value Plus authorized. Skills points are also awarded for verified business partner solutions leveraging any combination of IBM hardware, software, or services.†In addition, PartnerWorld points are awarded for verified client references.
A midmarket accelerator delivers additional points for revenue earned from midmarket accounts. Total ISV-influenced and application-specific license revenue will now be included in the total revenue calculation.†
Partners will also notice a simplified visual design on the main PartnerWorld portal covering sales, marketing, and technical support pages. New features include additional live chat support, easier navigation, enhanced search capability, and expanded social networking capabilities including industry-focused networking groups and a virtual summit feature for staging online events with clients.†
PartnerWorld program changes will be deployed in phases through 2010, with full deployment by October. The new points system for PartnerWorld level attainment will be reflected in the PartnerWorld Profiling System beginning this month.
To find out more, visit ibm.com/partnerworld/2010.
