Veeam debuts invite-only top partner tier

Virtual data management and protection vendor overhauls channel programme and lowers deal registration threshold

Virtualisation specialist Veeam Software has created a new accreditation level for partners that generate at least $250,000 of revenue a year by selling its products.

The vendor specialises in data protection and management tools for use in Microsoft and VMware-powered virtual environments, and claims to have 3,000 partners selling its products in Europe.

Speaking to ChannelWeb, Gilles Pommier, EMEA channel director at Veeam, said the firm's partner base has grown by 60 per cent over the past year, prompting it to revise its partner programme.

To this end, the firm has introduced a new Platinum top tier for partners that have shown the "most commitment" to the Veeam brand.

"We would personally select the partners [in this top tier], starting initially with five or six," said Pommier.

"By the end of the year, the aim is to have 10 partners from the UK, Germany and France in this tier, and 30 in total."

Entry into the Platinum tier is by invitation only. However, to qualify for entry, partners must have at least four Veeam certified sales professionals and four pre-sales consultants.

They will also need to be making at least $250,000 in revenue a year by selling Veeam's products.

In return, those that qualify will receive larger deal registration discounts, access to priority support and will be assigned their own Veeam account manager.

"It is our way of rewarding partners that have invested heavily with Veeam, in terms of sales and technical staff, and making sure they get the support they need to make further progress with our solutions," explained Pommier.

The vendor has also lowered the qualifying threshold for its deal registration programme, which is open to all of Veeam's certified partners.

Pommier said the move was to make it easier for partners that specialise in Microsoft's server virtualisation product Hyper-V to benefit from the deals they bring in.

"The Hyper-V product is targeted at SMBs, which naturally results in smaller deal sizes for our partners, but we did not want them to miss out because of that. So we lowered the threshold," he added.

Dave Simpson, sales director at Veeam partner Softcat, welcomed the programme changes. "With these updates to the programme and the support we receive from Veeam, [this] will help us drive even further growth in 2012 and beyond."