SME & CONSUMER NEWS
GFI Software refreshes partner programme
EUROPE
GFI Software has revamped its global partner programme in order to provide its 10,000 partners worldwide all the tools they need to increase their market share, drive sales and improve their revenues. “This is part of our wider
strategy to recruit more channel partners and then put more programmes in place for our existing channel partners,” GFI’s channel marketing manager, Angela Leech (left) told IT Europa. “It’s a service to partners through which we reaffirm our commitment and provide them with new tools, and at the same time it’s giving us the framework to recruit additional partners.” GFI Software is looking for partners across all
countries, and this, Leech explains, because “After two, technology has changes, we’re moving into different areas, into the cloud, and so with that ultimately you need to look for new and different partners as well because the partner ecosystem is
constantly changing.” Part of these changes are the way GFI Software
actually measure its partners and the way it’s rewarding them, to now give them benefits based on the numbers of transactions they do, rather than just a single revenue number, as well as created more tools and programmes to really help them drive GFI revenues - such as deal registrations programmes, qualified lead programmes, and additional incentives. “One of the key things about the programme
is that there are no fees joining, we don’t put any membership, we don’t ask for any purchase commitments, and our partners receive their discounts immediately upon joining the programme, without having to go though certifications,” she explained. “So just generally to make it easier to come on board.” Some big recruitment campaigns are to be
launched in EMEA and North American countries soon. “All I can say is that we’re looking to expand our partner base to give us more reach into the end-user space,” she concluded.
www.gfi.com/app/newpart
Check Point focuses on SMB market
EUROPE
AT its annual European Check Point Experience that was held in London this year, Check Point’s global head of channel sales, Amnon Bar-Lev told IT Europa about Check Point’s plans to concentrate on the SMB market. “Now we’re focusing our efforts towards the
SMB market, where we think we can grow more,” he explained. “We have more tools, especially in appliances, there’s an ongoing thing that we’re doing with service providers, we did a programme a year ago with pay-as-you-grow so they can actually grow their business together with us, and there’s a pickup for these plans slowly.” “We’re focusing today on giving more to the
channel, give them more tools in order to sell more Check Point,” he added. About 1,100 partners attended the Check Point Experience customer and dealer event, to hear more on Check Point’s plans to make its channel’s life easier, a strategy that included three major launches: first, Check Point’s beginning in the Data Leak Prevention (DLP) space, “A big launch for us getting us into that space, which is huge and meets a huge need for every organisation,” said Bar-Lev; second was in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) space, with a new gateway allowing all antivirus in Europe to run 10 times better, and a new small firewall to
8
US challenge to Cisco, Avaya “grey” market
EUROPE
THE US Association of Service and Computer Dealers International has filed a complaint with the US Department of Justice requesting relief from alleged attempts by Cisco and Avaya to “monopolise the maintenance market” for their products. According to the Association, both Cisco and
Avaya have adopted policies of not providing customers with bug fixes and software patches unless the end users purchase hardware support agreements from the manufacturers. And if the customers opt to sign a support contract with someone other than the manufacturers, the software patches are denied, it says. “It is like Toyota saying that they will not
download the software patch that fixes brake problems unless you sign a long term service agreement with them,” said Joseph Marion who represents the ASCDI. “And if you decide you want to have someone other than Toyota maintain your car, you can’t get the patch at all!” The Association has also filed complaints with
boost their performance by four times; and third, SmartEvent, a new software blade that does event correlation and protection. “All those announcements are very exciting
to the channel,” continued Bar-Lev. “We’re also working on a project to make things extremely easy for to quote Check Point, to allow them in an easy way to understand where is the potential of things they can do with their customers, etc.” Check Point is currently running a programme
that has started recently, which is to qualify leads and then give them to partners in order that they grow their business. “The focus today is not a revolution but an evolution,” he added. In the meantime, Check Point is trying to
expand its channel, something that isn’t always welcomed by some of its partners who fear a toughest competition. “The main reason why we’re expanding our partner community is due to the fact that each partner has a limited amount of customers, so if I want to cover more and more market space, I need more and more partners,” and this, especially in the big emerging markets, such as China or India, where in order to grow it needs to focus on the channel, whereas in mature countries, it is more looking at different segments in which it wasn’t present before, such as in end-point.
www.checkpoint.com
the US Departments of Justice and Defense and the General Services Administration requesting relief from alleged attempts by Cisco to interfere with free and open competition for the sale of Cisco products to the Federal Government. The complaints allege that Cisco falsely represented that procurement rules had changed for Information Technology equipment requiring the Federal Government to buy Cisco products only from Cisco or its authorised agents. The procurement rules have not changed and there are no such requirements, says the association According to the association, Cisco requires
its Authorized Resellers to sell equipment to end-users only. However, authorised resellers sell their new Cisco products to independent resellers who in turn sell these products as “new in the box” to the Federal Government and commercial buyers. Cisco calls those products “grey” and the association alleges that Cisco is falsely telling Federal Government buyers that buying “grey” market products is illegal. “Since Cisco can’t or won’t control its own
authorised resellers, it has decided to do what no manufacturer has ever done before by threatening and misleading the end users,” says Joseph Marion.
www.ascdi.com
OUR ANALYSIS
We run this story in conjunction with our front page top news about brokers. The gloves are coming off in this battle.
30 APR 2010
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