Storage solutions giant, EMC is radically transforming its backup and recovery solutions (BRS) channel.
So said Sebastien Helin, EMC's channel, mid-market and inside sales director for EMEA, in an interview with ITWeb yesterday.
Last week, the company revealed it had revamped its Velocity Solution Provider channel partner programme.
"We are dramatically revamping the channel at EMC," said Helin. "This is because the channel plays a critical role for the company."
According to Helin, the channel has proved to be more significant in SA than in the rest of the EMEA region as far as backup and recovery solutions are concerned.
"In SA, 70% of the backup and recovery solutions business is wholly driven by the channel, while in EMEA, the channel contributes 66%," he said.
He added that EMC is serious about exploiting its channel in Africa because, unlike in Europe where the company has a presence almost everywhere, there are some countries in Africa where EMC is not physically present, and the partners would fill that gap.
Helin also revealed that in order to grow the channel, EMC has dedicated some of its backup and recovery solutions as "channel-only products", saying these products would be sold solely via the channel.
"For EMC to continue growing, we have to leverage our partners. This is why we decided to let go of some products and dedicate them to the channel partners."
In the past year, said Helin, EMC has multiplied the number of channel-only products six-fold. Among these products, he singled out the Data Domain DD160, a deduplication storage solution for small enterprise data centres and remote offices, which he said was enjoying success thanks to the channel.
Helin also noted that channel partners were becoming more specialised as the backup and recovery solutions business turns mainstream.
To grow the channel, EMC is also doubling its investment in demand-generation funds, programmes and resources to develop highly qualified opportunities for partners and to accelerate revenue growth, Helin noted.
He also pointed out that the company offers training and development - critical components of its partner programme - to partners.
According to Helin, partners achieve specialty designations through EMC's advanced sales and technical training. "Having a specialty designation provides partners with the advanced competencies needed to architect and sell end-to-end solutions," he said.
Share