CRN Network
Armed with an enhanced partner program, storage major NetApp plans to ramp up its market strategy to win a larger share of the Indian enterprise storage market.
Last month the company launched a sprawling NetApp Innovation Center (NIC) in Bengaluru at an investment of $30 million; the center houses 800 professionals.
“NIC will showcase leading data storage and management technologies that meet the demands of next-generation data center computing. The team at NIC will work with partners to solve unique problems specific to the customer’s environment which are not addressed by standard solutions,” explained Surajit Sen, Director, Channels, Marketing & Alliances, NetApp India.
The company plans to add more marketing muscle to the Guarantee Program it launched earlier this year. This program promises 50 percent reduction in storage space for enterprises using NetApp storage solutions, and 35 percent reduction for enterprises using third-party storage solutions.
The company also plans to focus on sprucing up technology specialization certification among its partners. “Last year we launched a virtualization specialization among our partners; this year we plan to enroll more virtualization specialists in our fold,” informed Sen.
Also on the cards is the expansion of its mid-market partner program where the vendor will work with its 50-odd partners to tap organizations having an annual storage budget of $50,000.
NetApp recently fine-tuned its channel program to make it easier for solutions providers to work with the storage vendor.
It has changed the name, dropping the VIP (Very Important Partner) moniker in favor of NetApp Partner Program (NPP). “VIP was targeted at the VARs, while the new name reflects the changing dynamics of our partner ecosystem which includes a large number of global systems integrators and an increasing number of MSPs and ISPs,” explained Sen.
The changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary since key elements of the new partner program will remain the same, including MDFs, backend and special rebates, and partner rep incentives.
The new NPP includes a new field portal which provides partners with the same tools, plus marketing and sales content, that NetApp personnel use to support customers.
Also new is the Campaign Express, which allows partners to create their own automated marketing system to design campaigns, execute them, and even manage lead-generation.
GetSuccessful, another new feature, helps partners to sell various NetApp solutions through videos-on-demand, solutions kits, and face-to-face workshops. “This tool allows partners to plan their business growth strategy around our new solutions and offerings. It helps them plan for the investment required for the new offering, and also enables them to plot their sales strategy with a clear focus on ROI,” added Sen. |