| Kippreport.com

Brocade Introduces Global Alliance Partner Network

May 28, 2009 12:00 by Aarti Nagraj

Brocade^® (Nasdaq: BRCD) unveiled today its new global Alliance Partner Network channel program designed to attract storage and IP networking channel resellers with a more selective, profitable alternative to existing channel programs. The Brocade Alliance Partner Network maintains the ease-of-use, value-based, and component-rich elements of the existing Brocade storage networking channel program and expands these industry-leading best practices to include the Brocade IP networking portfolio of offerings.

The Brocade Alliance Partner Network was created to help channel resellers preserve and maximize profitability with innovative sales programs, attractive services offerings, and high-integrity business processes and tools designed to level the competitive playing field. Brocade is committed to helping channel partners increase their market share and customer satisfaction with a complete portfolio of innovative, proven, and cost-effective storage and IP networking product and service offerings.

“As business models shift and customer demands change, today’s leading and revolutionary channel companies are looking for a clearly defined and achievable return on partnering that produces improved performance, profitability, and ultimately customer satisfaction,” said Tiffani Bova, Vice President of Research, Indirect Channel Programs & Sales Strategies, Gartner. “As a result, these companies are being more selective when aligning with particular IT vendors and joining partner programs, while, at the same time, IT vendors must find ways to assist current partners that are interested in evolving their business toward more profitable opportunities such as services and other alternative delivery and acquisition models.”

The new channel reseller program consists of four distinct partnership levels: distributor, elite, premier, and select. All levels have been designed with specific requirements and benefits custom-designed to help partners leverage and be rewarded for their networking product knowledge and solution support expertise. As part of this partner-enablement strategy, Brocade will provide partners deal registration to help ensure project and investment protection. In addition, Brocade has extensively expanded its dedicated sales, marketing, and technical support model needed to support these high-quality partnerships.

“End users are looking for solutions that enable them to optimise existing assets and sweat every ounce of efficiency from already stretched resources,” commented Peter Baker, director at Calyx ICT.  “As members of Brocade’s new Alliance Partner Network, Calyx ICT is able to leverage the tools available to us to drive our business forward and offer our customers an attractive business proposition.  By combining our networking expertise with Brocade’s commitment to channel development and profitability, we have a strong offering to drive customer satisfaction and revenue.”

“Channel partners are increasingly looking for cost-effective solutions to help address their customers’ growing networking requirements without sacrificing performance or reliability, all of which Brocade provides today,” said Barbara Spicek, vice president of worldwide channels at Brocade. “At the same time they are evaluating their vendor portfolio as they are faced with a highly over-distributed networking channel landscape and constantly being pressed on margin, which affects their overall profitability. Brocade is committed to providing a channel framework that concentrates on providing a high return on partner investment, selectivity rather than broad recruitment, quality of relationship, and a strong focus on improvement of overall profitability.”