NetApp hails new rebates as channel winner
New financial incentives most important element of programme shakeup, NetApp claims
NetApp has insisted its recent partner programme overhaul, which saw a flurry of new rebates introduced, has gone down a storm in the channel.
Last month, the vendor overhauled its website and introduced an easier-to-navigate partner directory as part of a partner programme overhaul.
It also combined a variety of different contract types into one in order to make life simpler for partners. This means that resellers, regional service providers, systems integrators and solutions integrators all now have access to one contract type including the same incentives and support.
Pete Rawden (pictured), NetApp's UK partner sales director, said the new contract makes it easier for partners which fall into more than one of the above categories, but said the most important aspect of the overhaul was its new rebate system.
In the past, partners achieving competencies received marketing materials to promote their new credentials, but now they receive additional rebates for occasions when they make use of them.
"What we've done now is take it a step further," said Rawden. "For this level of specialisation - a competency - we will offer rebates and financial rewards for business that you do using that specialisation.
"Typically, rewards vendors offer - generically, and including NetApp - would be based on performance. Now we're offering rewards based on capability and utilisation of those capabilities.
"[All the changes] are important, but I would say the way to maximise your financial return is always important from a partner perspective. It depends who you talk to in a partner as to what's most relevant to them; for example, the marketing team would be big fans of the partner directory as it supports their efforts.
"But realistically, making NetApp a profitable proposition for our partners - so if you invest in NetApp, you get a good return on your investment - is absolutely key. Making sure that happens is a win-win. The partner gets more financial rewards and we get more competency in the marketplace for our customers."
Rawden added that the move was partly driven by partner feedback, which he is keen to gather from NetApp surveys, partner events and talking to resellers day-to-day.
NetApp partner ANS Group's managing director Paul Sweeney said his firm is not afraid to give honest feedback, and that he was particularly pleased with the new rebate system.
"I'm in favour of making it more specialised because for the investment required for each specialisation, we want to be rewarded for that and to be differentiated from our competition," he said.
"The reason we wanted [the changes] is to be able to stand out and get a return on our investment in training.
"We try and look at programmes across all the vendors - they all have different ways of doing things and some are better than others. NetApp benefits from our very direct feedback."