Internet Solutions (IS) is beefing up its channel partner programme with a growing number of on-line service offerings and a new online Partner Zone for enhanced communications with the channel.
The moves are designed to help its Value Added Partners (VAPs) further penetrate the rapidly-growing SME market for Internet services which deliver the same world class infrastructure and wired business solutions already enjoyed by SA`s large corporations.
The expanded services VAPs can now offer their clients include enhanced access facilities, hosting and an application service provision (ASP) service based on Microsoft application .
"The VAP programme is a year old and we`re now able to hone and expand our offerings based on feedback we`ve been getting from our VAPs and the market," says Andrew Aitken, sales manager: affiliation at IS.
"This represents a substantial investment and indicates our commitment to seeing our VAPs gain a major share of this market."
In addition to the ASP service, which is called Piped Dreams, VAPs can now offer their clients enhanced access services such as bandwidth management and bandwidth on demand, as well as hosting services using the client`s, the VAP`s or IS` servers hosted directly on the IS backbone either publicly or in a totally secure de-militarised zone (DMZ).
A key marketing and support aide is the revamped Partner Zone portal. This contains all the tools needed to sell connectivity and on-line solutions and to provide on-going support to the end customer.
"It`s a user-friendly environment that provides VAPs with everything they need to operate successfully in this market. It really empowers them to answer any queries they are faced with and to resolve problems quickly.
"This is achieved not just through the frequently asked questions database, but by joining in on-line chat sessions with their peers and IS experts," Aitken explains.
The Partner Zone also acts as a direct and totally private and secure means for VAPs to communicate specific customer information to enable IS to advise on individual prospects and co-ordinating joint sales efforts where necessary.
Partners can extract usage data per customer so trends can be monitored and needs, such as additional bandwidth, identified. Other value-added services can be delivered via access to customer data such as the volume of data sent from a hosted server or the performance of a leased line over time.
The facility also provides on-line documentation on the different services, details on training courses, upcoming events and news on new access services and product offerings. VAPs can also monitor and escalate customer problems to IS.
"Our goal with the enhanced VAP programme and the new Partner Zone is to enable our partners to grow their relationships with their clients by giving them the tools they require to meet their clients` every on-line, Internet-related need," Aitken concludes.
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