Clearswift cleans up channel
Vendor's revamped partner programme will see 'bar raised' and some firms jettisoned
Content filtering vendor Clearswift has admitted some partners are not up to scratch and will be lost when its revamped partner programme is rolled out in April.
The vendor, whose flagship product is Mimesweeper, is introducing stricter partner guidelines and has vowed to become more "partner-centric".
Ian Bowles, senior vice-president worldwide operations at Clearswift, told CRN: "This revamp is the last piece of the jigsaw. We have had a complete reorganisation of our product roadmap, marketing and internal sales structure, as well as consulting partners and customers."
Tiers and accreditations will stay the same, although "the bar will be raised" when it comes to the requirements for higher-level Authorised and Premium partners, Bowles added.
However, he admitted some partners will not make the grade. "If partners do not meet our new criteria, then we will try to work with them. But there will definitely be partners that I can't imagine will meet the criteria as well as those that decide not to work with us anymore," he said.
"We made the decision to go back to the channel, reinvigorate some existing relationships and also appoint new partners."
He added that some partners may not like certain changes to the programme, such as a plan to offer end-users the choice of receiving support directly from Clearswift or from resellers.
Other changes to the programme include the creation of a direct-touch sales team to generate leads for partners, and it will allow a select number of VARs to deal directly with Clearswift rather than through distributors.
Anthony Richardson, Clearswift product manager at distributor Unipalm, welcomed the changes. "Some partners won't be pleased, but these are the kind of partners Clearswift won't want to work with anyway," he said.
"For the first time the integrity of partners is being policed and this will create a level playing field for the whole channel."