CA on indirect path as it targets higher profits
Vendor reveals plans to continue recruitment drive to strengthen channel market presence
Computer Associates (CA) intends to drive more profit through its partners in 2006 and is still keen to recruit new resellers.
Speaking to CRN about his plans for the next 12 months, Tony Martin, recently appointed EMEA channel manager at CA (CRN, 21 November), said partners are “taking huge risks with their livelihoods,” when working with any vendor, and a partnership has to be mutually beneficial.
“The more profit our partners make the more successful we will be. It is healthy for both sides of the relationship. Partners should know what they are going to do and how their strategy encompasses CA,” Martin said.
CA is also “98 per cent on track” he added with its shift to a 50 per cent indirect model and is aligning its partners into four categories: Alliance (handling named accounts), Enterprise (handling midsize enterprises), Premier (handling small enterprises) and Affiliate (handling small office/home office customers).
“Partners can exist in more than one category and we will be spending considerably more on marketing in the coming year. We are starting to do things in a far more professional and organised way. We have listened to criticism and analysed it,” Martin said.
David Simpson, sales director at VAR Softcat, said: “It is definitely true that CA’s direct sales people are being more encouraged to go through the channel in the UK, whereas before CA concentrated on doing this in the US.
“I think CA has the right team of people in place now. Tony Martin is genuinely interested in what the channel is doing and wants to help. I would say CA is certainly much more open than it has ever been and it has a fairly strong line-up of products as well. It is definitely on our list as a growth vendor for us this year.”
Seperately, CA has signed an agreement to acquire enterpise software vendor Wily Technology for $375m. The acquisition is expected to close within the next three months.