EMC to axe Velocity VAR programme next year

From 2014, all EMC partners will be branded as Business Partners in an effort to simplify the vendor's proposition

EMC claims its decision to rebrand all its partners as "Business Partners" from next year is another step forward in making the firm simpler to work with.

From 1 January next year, EMC Velocity reseller partners, as well as its Service Providers, Global Alliances, Services, IIG and Technology partners will all be referred to as Business Partners.

Speaking in a keynote speech, EMC's senior vice president for global channel sales Gregg Ambulos said the move will help strengthen partners' brands and be more clear to customers.

He said: "The newly branded partner programme leverages the power of EMC. [You will have] all the equity and the clout of EMC behind you – the giant of the industry."

EMC revamped its Velocity partner programme less than three months ago, creating new incentives and rebates for partners in a move to become more simple, profitable and predictable to work with, but the programme will be scrapped at the end of the year.

It is unclear yet whether the move will just see the programmes rebranded or whether it will consist of a more in-depth overhaul of each programme's structure.

At the time of the most recent changes, resellers claimed to be on board with EMC's plans to update its Velocity programme, with some citing a "significant change" in the vendor's channel attitude.

At EMC World, senior vice president for strategic sales Terry Breen attracted huge applause from the partner-filled arena when he announced that its Powerlink partner portal would be scrapped in favour of an upgraded model in the coming months.

Throughout the Global Partner Summit event, which kicked off EMC World, executives were keen to express how important the channel was in taking its offerings to market.