New i365 Partner Program

i365, a Seagate Company, launched the i365 Global Partner Program, a next step in the evolution of the new company. Partner programs from the EVault Data Protection, MetaLINCS E-Discovery and Seagate Recovery Services (Action Front) acquisitions have been consolidated to support a leveraged sales model with incentive proportional to value that will accelerate partner growth, expansion and profitability. Now, the entire portfolio of i365 solutions, including data protection, retention management and E-Discovery will assist the channel in selling deeper into their existing customer base, and expand into new markets. The i365 Global Partner Portal is an enhanced web-based infrastructure with automated enablement tools, from training and marketing through the order process, to accelerate partner ramp up.

The program is designed to extend the relationship of i365 key partners worldwide, including value added resellers (VARs), consultants, managed service providers (MSPs) and technology service providers, as well as recruit new partners. There are three main categories of partners within the i365 Global Partner Program, including Authorized, Certified and Specialized partners. All partners are compensated at varying levels based on their commitment to revenue and investment and receive additional discounts through loyalty incentives and volume discounts.

Authorized partners are predominately rewards-based resellers that provide referrals to i365 while meeting a minimum revenue obligation. Certified partners are also rewards-based resellers that maintain skilled and certified professionals dedicated to i365. Specialized Partners retain business models that incorporate i365 offerings into their service and solution offerings.

“Our extensive network of industry partners worldwide were paramount in the creation of this program – with many of the features and benefits coming as a direct result of their feedback,” said Carolyn Crandall, senior vice president of marketing at i365. “This program is designed to increase the depth of our partner relationships, poise our partners for profitability and increasingly reward them as they grow.”

The i365 Global Partner Portal maintains an online dashboard of automated business and technical tools, resources and services spanning the entire sales cycle from training, marketing and opportunity registration through sales and post sales support. The tools are designed to simplify and streamline the sales process for existing and new partners, and cross train partners on the entire i365 product portfolio.

Program members can benefit from a variety of business and market development tools and resources within i365’s Partner Program, including:

• Infrastructure such as the Partner Program online portal, a secure directory that houses a variety of self-help training and market development resources.
• Support throughout the entire sales cycle, including marketing and lead support, access to a pre-sales hotline as well as fee-based technical support post-sale
• Resources including Web-based on-demand sales and technical training, certification courses and online ordering of co-brandable materials for print.
• Communications tools such as newsletters and quarterly business briefings

Additionally, Certified and Specialized partners have access to an assigned partner manager and sales engineers and tech support.

“Companies like ours that have allocated time, resources and money to train and certify both the technical staff and sales staff will benefit by this new program," said Dan Holt, chief executive officer of HEIT, Inc., providing IT services to financial sector companies in the US. "The new i365 Global Partner Program provides progressive tools that are necessary to compete in today’s economy, while providing access to a wider range of differentiated solutions that build loyalty among our existing customers and help expand our footprint.”

"i365’s understanding and collaboration with their channel, combined with their investment in infrastructure, tools and support globally is a real strength,” said Paul Myerson, senior channel analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. “The new i365 Global Partner Program shows i365’s commitment to building its relationship with their channel partners, and can help them break through this economic market delivering innovative technology that provides choice through the channel.”