Technology Reseller v33

technologyreseller.co.uk 07 PARTNER PROGRAMMES space and accelerate remote working in order to cut costs; 60% are planning to increase their use of digital collaboration tools to improve staff well-being and create more cohesive teams. Just under half (49%) expect to grow next year. More training please Training/education is the area in which distributors can best help resellers succeed in ‘as-a-service’ categories, cited by 55% in a survey of resellers for Context’s 2020 ChannelWatch report. Marketing was in second place, cited by 40%. This year’s report reveals an increase in the number of resellers selling cloud services in five categories – back- up, disaster recovery and storage (up to 70%, from 44% in 2019); infrastructure; security; web hosting and e-commerce; and business applications. www.contextworld.com Office lovers in flight to the suburbs IWG, the operator of flexible workspace brands like Regus and Spaces, is bracing itself for a fundamental shift in the location of offices, after buoyant demand for flexible workspaces in the suburbs fuelled a 22% jump in sales during the summer, offsetting a 40% sales decline in London city centre locations. In the three months from June to August, IWG’s centres in Uxbridge and Luton both saw a 74% increase in demand for flexible office space, followed by Croydon (36%) and Harrow (25%). The pattern in the North was similar, if not quite as extreme, with demand for spaces on the outskirts of cities like Manchester growing twice as fast as that for city centre locations (37% compared to 18%). Although a reduction in commuting times is now a top priority for office workers, cited by 70% of Londoners, IWG claims that people still want to spend time at the office, pointing out that 57% of 2,000 workers surveyed want to return to the office when allowed, albeit not all the time – 46% say they would consider quitting their job if they were asked to return to the office five days a week. New Partner Programmes Vestel Visual Solutions Vestel Visual Solutions, a global manufacturer of professional display solutions, is supporting ambitious UK growth targets with a new VIP digital partner programme available via browser or app. A key component is the new partner portal giving channel partners easy access to stock availability/pricing information; direct access to a dedicated account manager; after-sales support; product & training videos; content & case studies; marketing assets; and sales incentives. www.vestelvisualsolutions.com Tintri intelligent infrastructure Tintri, provider of intelligent infrastructure for enterprises, is following May’s launch of its partner portal with a new channel partner programme offering deal registration, guaranteed margins, incentives and discounts; access to marketing-qualified leads; customised marketing resources – collateral, integrated campaigns and event support; training; and Tintri support for customer install base/support contracts. Since May, Tintri has seen a 550% increase in new partner registrations, with 80% of partners successfully closing new customer wins. Tintri Intelligent Infrastructure enables partners to reduce customers’ storage management overhead by up to 95% and capital expenses by up to 50%. https://tintri.com/partners/ J2 Global online fax J2 Global, provider of the eFax online fax solution, has launched a tiered EMEA channel programme to enhance the support it provides telecoms, UCaas and managed services partners and system integrators. This includes access to services and resources to help partners generate new revenue opportunities while delivering online fax solutions to support customers’ digital transformation initiatives. John Mannion, VP Alliances & Strategic Partnerships, eFax at J2 Global, said: “Now more than ever, customers are under pressure to improve their operations through cloud services that remove paper- heavy processes, improve collaboration and guarantee data security. Our eFax EMEA channel program helps valuable partners deliver online fax solutions that allow customers to empower their remote workforce, better manage their operations and meet these requirements.” https://efax.co.uk/channel Smartway 2 workplace scheduling Smartway2, a provider of workplace scheduling solutions that can also be used to automate social distancing, contact tracing, sanitation procedures and self-certification, has announced an expanded program for channel partners, referral partners, systems integrators and technology partners. The Smartway2 Workplace Transformation Partner Program is optimised for companies, consultants or advisors who already offer IT, AV and/or smart office design and want to transform the way clients interact with spaces, desks and ’items’ in their workplace. Programme benefits include a Partner toolkit, training and support, a dedicated partner manager and revenue share. https://smartway2.com/partners/ APC power supplies Schneider Electric is giving European APC Channel Partners the opportunity to increase profit margins through new updates to the APC Channel Partner Program’s Opportunity Registration Program (ORP). These provide new discounts, simpler processes and a diversified product/service offering. For example, changes to the Edge ORP will give partners new discounts for selling pre-integrated Alliance solutions including Cisco ‘HyperFlex for the Edge’ bundles. StorageCraft storage management StorageCraft has extended its channel partner program to include free 24/7 global support as a standard offering for all StorageCraft MSP subscription licenses, including ShadowProtect and the recently introduced ShadowXafe 4.0 and OneXafe Solo business continuity solutions. It says it has done this to help alleviate the pressure MSPs are under as they help businesses adapt their IT infrastructures to support distributed workforces due to COVID-19. According to Zendesk, average global support requests were up 19% in mid-July, compared to the same time last year. storagecraft.com