McAfee revises Alliance to meet partner needs
Security vendor wants to reward partners appropriately for the amount of value they add
McAfee has shaken up its partner programme to keep pace with what it has described as “the changing face of the channel”.
The vendor is set to launch its McAfee Security Alliance programme today, which it has claimed is more aligned to partners’ needs.
Rob Eatwell, regional channel director at McAfee, told CRN: “The channel is evolving and becoming more multi-tiered. We have taken our older programme and aligned it to partner areas. We want to reward partners appropriately for the value they add. This new programme will allow us to marshall resources better.”
Partners will be divided into four different categories, each of those featuring Elite, Premier and Associate level partners.
The first category is Software Reseller, which is aimed at focused licensing partners. The second is McAfee Solution Provider Partner, which has a focus on delivering high service content. The third is Managed Service Provider, and finally Strategic Alliance Partner, which includes vendor alliances with firms such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
Eatwell said McAfee is entering a two-month transition period to allow existing partners to transfer to the new programme and find the appropriate category. He stressed that the new programme would not affect its existing distribution strategy.
Donna Taylor, managing director of McAfee Elite partner DSA, welcomed the Security Alliance programme but felt the channel needed stronger policing.
“It seems more structured, but McAfee is still not offering structured pricing on all of its products, only the new ones,” she said. “This means uncertified VARs can still get the same pricing as a certified partner on some products. As long as it is policed properly from now on, we will be happy.”
Ash Hussein, sales director of VAR Axial Associates, said: “We do genuinely think it’s a good programme. The only downside is it’s another change. As long as this one is stuck to, it can only be a good thing because it’s about reseller competencies and ensuring partner skills are aligned to McAfee solutions.”