Recognizing that global channel partners and supporting solution market strategies are now a fundamental element in the information technology (IT) arena, Quest Software recently announced the implementation of a new globally unified partner program, Quest Partner Circle.
The program debuted in July at the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference held in Los Angeles.
Quest is a California-based designer of global IT management strategies and has over 100,000 customers worldwide. The company’s new three-tier program offers its referral and distribution partners and resellers the opportunity to sell all of Quest’s products and services.
Quest Partner Circle is designed to unite the company’s 4,500 partners within a “single global framework.” A focus of the program is to provide partners with enhanced opportunities to bring customers greater value, and it will also provide a closer partner alliance with Quest.
The program’s channel partner tiers are Elite, Premier, and Registered, and are geared to offer technical training, rewards focused on specialization and revenue, increased sales, and global deal registration. Another feature of the program is transparency – there are clear-cut rules, along with a “predictable investment model for pricing, discounts, services and opportunity management.”
In the press release, Quest’s vice president of Worldwide Channel and Alliances Michael Sotnick explained, “Unifying our global partner program under a single worldwide framework is a tremendous step forward for Quest, our partners and our customers.” He added that the new program “will empower our partners to work more closely and successfully with us and grow their businesses to address evolving customer requirements.”
Vice President, WW Specialist Sales, Enterprise Partner Group, Microsoft Larry Orecklin provided a supporting quote in the press release, “As a long-standing and award-winning ISV partner, Quest is recognized for its expertise across the entire Microsoft solution portfolio and its focus on vital emerging technologies, including cloud services, virtualization, and identity and access management.”
Another supporter of Quest’s new partner program is research manager for Software Channels Research with IDC’s Software Business Solutions Christine Dover, who is a proponent of unified channel partner initiatives, such as the Quest Partner Circle. She explained that these programs “allow companies to effectively incorporate existing products and services across their entire solution stacks and integrate newly acquired companies and technologies to fuel mutual growth”
Dover went on to explain that the program’s design will enhance existing partnerships and also attract new recruits. This program strategy will enable effective channel partnerships, which in turn will enhance long-term customer loyalty.