BakBone Software wants VARs to help fulfil IDP ambition
Vendor aims to push business towards an Integrated Data Protection strategy
Software vendor BakBone Software wants to grow its UK channel partner numbers by 50 per cent over the next six to nine months, as the firm attempts to strengthen the foundations of its Integrated Data Protection (IDP) strategy.
BakBone said that its intended growth in partner numbers will also increase the number of resellers in its Channel Advantage Programme, which comprises various benefits spread across three tiers: Authorised, Silver and Platinum.
BakBone told CRN that it wants to transform its business from a pure data recovery vendor to an IDP provider. It claimed this will include a broadening of its product portfolio to reach out to a greater number of markets, such as tiered storage management and software replication.
Chris Ross, vice-president of EMEA at BakBone, told CRN: “We are providing a broader data protection portfolio to allow our partners to address a greater variety of markets. We will look for partners that understand the broad portfolio of data protection, rather than just the backup and recovery market.
“Our goal is to help end-users execute an IDP strategy and we need more partners to do that. We will also provide a broader data protection portfolio to allow our partners to address more markets.”
Carla Arend, senior research analyst at IDC, said the recruitment drive is a good move for BakBone.
“The market is growing, we think by about seven per cent year over year in Europe,” she said. “BakBone will need partners that cover both the software sale and which also handle services sales for the client.”
Ross said the decision to increase its VAR numbers follows an existing partner promotion – Ride Route 66 – that is designed to strengthen the vendor’s relationship with its UK and Ireland partners. The promotion is managed by BakBone’s distributor CMS Peripherals and offers a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as its grand prize.
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