As Brocade partners evolve their business models in response to customer demand for virtualisation, cloud, data centre consolidation and professional services, the Brocade Alliance Partner Network (APN) has adapted to provide an easy-to-navigate programme to accelerate time to revenue.
The new resources include an online partner portal to centralise management of all resources and assets, an online configuration tool, online pre-sales training and new marketing and sales asset development resources. Brocade has streamlined the point-of-sale processes, and will be increasing rebate caps and incentives on IP networking sales focused on driving new customer growth.
Brocade is making enhanced configuration tools available to partners, in addition to the total cost of ownership (TCO) calculators, the Brocade BMI Configurator and inclusion in the Netformx Design Expert tool. The online product configurator tool will provide easy-to-use configurations to provide initial comparisons and compatibility reviews. The tool is designed to facilitate early discussions with customers and accelerate the sales process.
Brocade is launching APN Central, a portal that provides partners with a single online location for all deal information and program updates, along with access to all marketing, sales and pre-sales tools. APN Central helps partners easily manage their marketing development funds (MDF), deal registration, lead management, education and configuration needs. These new capabilities also allow partners to view business plans, check programme compliance and provide direct access to the new and improved sales and marketing tools to more effectively drive growth and target revenue opportunities.
As part of Brocade Grid, three new online resources will now be available to support partners in their efforts to drive sales and build their own brand. The marketing hub, Brocade pre-sales training and the sales kit provide ready-to-use assets for demand generation, information blasts, product information, sales and training and seminars-in-a-box that can be co-branded and personalized. Brocade is also providing enablement funding to new Elite and Premier level partners, and has developed “kick-start” campaigns that can be quickly and easily tailored. By utilising these self-service marketing solutions, partners can access advertising, marketing programmes and assets to easily extend their reach and attract both net-new and current customers to accelerate revenue growth.
“Channel organisations want networking solutions that provide differentiation and that help them build their professional services revenues quickly and easily. Brocade delivers this through Brocade Ethernet fabrics, The Effortless Network vision for campus solutions and Brocade Network Subscription,” said Regan McGrath, vice president of Worldwide Channel Sales and Marketing at Brocade. “With this wide range of innovative networking solutions and easy-to-use online tools, we are giving our partners the assets and support they need to build their brand, drive sales and ultimately accelerate their revenue growth.”
The Brocade Alliance Partner Network has three levels of membership (Select, Premier and Elite) and a distribution category. It offers partners qualified leads, sales support and technical education in addition to a wide range of self-service marketing tools, enablement portals and training and education programs to help partners develop and tailor their business models to their particular needs.
