CA ramps up plan for EMEA channel review
Vendor claims that some partners will move up the ladder in partner re-evaluations
CA is gearing up to do a ‘deep dive’ into its EMEA channel to weed out the partners that are under performing in the market.
The vendor, which last week held its CA World event in Las Vegas, has a 90-day window to complete the review, which could also see some partners moved up the CA partner ladder.
Ned Jaroudi, vice-president of partner marketing at CA, told CRN: “This is all about encouraging some partners to up their revenue bands and weed out the ones that have done very little business with CA.
“Within the next 90 days we are going to figure out who those partners are and map out their skills. Two areas that have traditionally been the weakest at CA have been channel and marketing, but both of these have gained tremendous momentum over the past 18 months.”
CA also announced its latest channel strategy at the event, tied in with its new mid-market focus. For the first time in the company’s 30-year history, direct sales teams will be compensated if they win deals for partners and similarly partners will be compensated if a customer decides to go direct.
The vendor has also invested in other key areas, including its partner portal, reseller training, joint-marketing and lead generation. Its Partner Reward Centre will also feature more automated incentives.
Bill Lipsin, senior vice-president of worldwide channel sales at CA, said: “The channel is critical to CA’s success.”
Joe McKenna, managing director of CA partner Infrasolve, said: “The renumeration of the direct sales guys is particularly welcome because it reduces the number of strategic accounts and means more market space for us to work in. CA is also choosing the partners that it wants to invest in, which will make a difference.”