"Mature" Riverbed unveils new top tier

Cream of the crop: Diamond partners must meet stringent requirements

WAN optimisation vendor Riverbed has created a new Diamond tier for its most successful partners and unveiled Teneo as its first UK recruit.

UK Diamond partners need at least four Riverbed Certified Solution Professionals and must meet an undisclosed minimum revenue requirement. In return, they will be offered extra rebates for penetrating targeted accounts, plus additional marketing, training and rebate incentives.

Teneo, which was Riverbed’s first UK partner in 2004, is the first to gain Diamond status.

Nigel Lambert, northern European channel manager at Riverbed, said the certification ­ which sits above its Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers ­ is a sign of the WAN optimisation market’s increased maturity.

“Some of our partners are getting large enough now to support a new tier,” he said.
Fuelled by a 40 per cent rise in Riverbed sales, Reading-based Teneo grew sales by 10 per cent to £9.2m for its year to 30 June.

James Hall, marketing director at Teneo, claimed “flag-waving” was no longer necessary to sell Riverbed.

“Customers are now architecting solutions with WAN optimisation in place,” he said. “They do not bother to embark on a centralisation project without it ­ we are seeing a maturing of the market.”