Topic: Partner Programs - Page 73

Developing closer ties with strategic partners and rolling out partner program enhancements will be top priorities for the long-time Ingram Micro executive, who officially becomes eFolder’s new channel and distribution chief today.

In a “state of the channel” presentation yesterday, Microsoft’s Gavriella Schuster (pictured) said the remodeled One Commercial Partner program she heads up has distributed over 80,000 sales leads since July.

Part of a dramatic overhaul of the giant vendor’s channel ecosystem, the new initiative gives partners primary sales ownership of some 170,000 mostly small and midsize companies worldwide.

Called Riverbed Rise, it replaces a competency-based model requiring steep upfront skills investments with performance-based rewards for landing new accounts and selling more solutions to existing customers, among other accomplishments.

Targeted at OEMs and solution providers, the new program is designed to provide everything needed to create, implement, and support hardware-based solutions.

The latest in a succession of high-profile eFolder hires, Bystrak (pictured) will now be responsible for developing strategic alliances and driving increased adoption of eFolder solutions in the channel.

Called MSP Ignition! and available free of charge to both eFolder partners and anyone else interested in participating, the new offering will provide instruction in launching, growing, and selling a managed services practice.

The latest in a string of executive departures, the move comes less than a year after the hardware manufacturer added responsibility for its U.S. SMB business to Kinlaw’s duties atop the partner organization.

Available in the U.S. now and in Canada next quarter, the new procurement plan lets businesses pay for customized selections of hardware, software, and services via monthly payments that scale up or down as their needs change.

Slower but also less expensive than the A3 color multifunction printer Epson introduced in March, the new device features a stationary, margin-to-margin print head that produces up to 75 pages per minute.