EMC preps partners for downstream push

Storage giant follows up mid-market product release with channel programme overhaul

Storage giant EMC has reinforced its commitment to the mid-market by introducing a slew of partner incentives to drive sales of its VNXe products.

The mid-market unified storage product was introduced by EMC in January as part of the vendor's aim to shed its "enterprise-only" image.

At the time, the vendor supported its launch by creating a new reseller category for partners that just want to sell the VNXe line to help build volume sales.

EMC has now followed this up by adding several new incentives to its Velocity Solution Provider Partner Programme to enable its wider channel to capitalise on the product's launch.

These include: adding the entire VNXe line to its Velocity Incentive Programme, which will provide partners' employees with individual stackable rewards for deals including the products.

Partners will also receive free sales and services training on the products to help them win more business in the mid-market and below.

Nicholas Leblanc, vice president of EMC EMEA channels and mid-market, said the changes introduced to boost partner profitability.

"We [are] committed to providing our Velocity partners with the right tools and resources to allow them to focus on delivering the best possible service to their customers," said Leblanc. "

We believe Velocity partners are well positioned to lead their customers on their journey to the cloud while growing their business and becoming more profitable."

Ian Parslow, vice president of sales at EMC partner MTI Technology, said the changes were a sign of the increasing importance the vendor is placing on its channel.

"MTI and EMC go back a long time and over the last few years we have seen that EMC has become more and more channel friendly." he said. "The new enhancements to the Velocity Programme and the introduction of the VNX Family are great examples of this change."

Christian Magirus, executive vice president of EMC distributor Magirus, added: "The addition of the VNXe portfolio to the Velocity program along with the new discount structures, make an even more compelling offer for resellers.

"This provides a direct path for resellers to help their customers realise the benefits of unified storage as they migrate to virtualised data centres and cloud computing."