CIO asia: DataCore ramps up channel investment in Australia/ NZ with new partner program for storage virtualisation solutions; New Storage Hypervisor Update

http://www.cio-asia.com/tech/storage/datacore-ramps-up-channel-investment-with-new-program/

Storage virtualisation vendor, DataCore Software, has revealed a new partner program as it seeks to strengthen its channel presence in the A/NZ market.

DataCore has also recently announced a new solution update: DataCore Software Announces Hot New Capabilities and Turbo Charged Performance for Tier-1 Applications with SANsymphony-V R9 Storage Hypervisor

DataCore COO, Steve Houck, visited Australia recently and said it was investing and concentrating its efforts on getting the channel to understand the value of storage virtualisation through launching a new partner program.

"We want partners that have the skills set and understand the market opportunity," Houck said.

The program features include profitability, business planning, product integration, solution architects and helping partners understand how DataCore integrates with their existing lines of business, Houck said.

It will only feature one tier- the DataCore Business Partner. The previous program did feature tiers, but Houck said it was taking a different approach.

"The program features beyond rich financial rewards. There's a lot of effort in investment being put into developing business opportunities with the partner," he said. "The whole goal with the program is to get to first revenue with the partner very quickly. "There's no channel conflict because we have a narrow set of partners and we're not over-distributed, and we're not competing against other partners selling the same thing."

The vendor is also seeking to involve partners in product development and look at launching a partner advisory council. The new program will become available in the second quarter (April/May).

According to DataCore vice president and general manager Asia Pacific and Japan, Manish Sharma, it has about 12 active partners in the local market and about 100 customers in Australia including Kingston City Council in Melbourne, Murdoch University, Deloitte Australia, and RTA in NSW. DataCore is currently distributed by Avnet Technology Solutions in Australia.

"A lot of partners are afraid of putting too many lines in their portfolio, because it's more skills you have to add. For us, we're looking for dedicated partners, to go with us on the ride," Sharma said.