Citrix holds VAR in high Esteem
VAR Esteem has snagged all four of the new badges designed to help VARs mark themselves out as specialists
Esteem has bagged all four of the Citrix ‘Specialisations' the vendor unveiled at its Las Vegas partner summit in January.
The four badges form the "cornerstone" of the latest iteration of Citrix's Solution Advisor partner programme, which the vendor claimed reflects the fact "many customers are avoiding generalists in favour of partners with in-depth technical expertise".
According to Citrix, the Specialist designations enable customers to quickly identify "best-in-class" partners in virtualisation, mobility, networking for datacentre and networking for apps and mobile security.
In a statement, VAR and MSP Esteem announced it has bagged the full set.
Esteem chief executive Joe Connolly, said: "We were the first ever partner in Europe to achieve Citrix Platinum Partner status 15 years ago, and since then, our experience and Citrix expertise has developed even further.
"Attainment of all four of the Citrix Specialisation accreditations is great recognition of the success and expertise of our dedicated Citrix practice."
Citrix Specialists must pass a practicum exam and have validated their work through documented customer implementations.
Esteem, which posted £34.7m revenues in its most recently reported financial results, was one of a handful of Citrix partners to be demoted from the vendor's Platinum tier last year but has since regained top-level status. It is listed as one of only seven Platinum partners in the UK alongside Alternative Networks, Cetus, Esteem, Computacenter, Kelway, SCC and Ultima.
The news comes after Citrix's former CEO, Mark Templeton, spoke of the need to overhaul Citrix's channel strategy as he announced his retirement in July. Earlier in the summer, activist investor Elliott blasted the vendor for having too many partners.
Explaining the rationale behind the new Solutions Advisor programme and Specialisations in a blog post in February, Citrix executive Katie Lochrie, said: "To increase the likelihood of project success, many customers are avoiding generalists in favor of partners with in-depth technical expertise. They are looking for leaders in emerging tech areas such as enterprise networking, mobility management and application delivery. They want assurances of competency through hands-on experience, references and best practices."