CA introduces direct hard deck as it commits to channel

Firm aiming to put 75 per cent of business through channel, compared with just 25 per cent a year ago

CA Technologies has sectioned off 150 of its biggest accounts for its direct sales force, leaving all the rest of its business to go through the channel.

CA put between 20 and 25 per cent of its business through the channel a year ago, but that figure has now risen to between 55 and 60 per cent. The firm is aiming to get it to 75 per cent in the near future, partly by segmenting its biggest accounts and letting the channel get its hands on the rest.

Louise Ashbrook, CA's senior director of partners for the UK and Ireland, told CRN that more focus is being put on partners.

"In the UK specifically, the enterprise segment is for our largest customers," she said. "There are 150 customers at the moment. Everything else is in the commercial segment, and that is partner driven. It's fantastic from our perspective.

"We're not looking for a massive volume of partners. From a CA perspective, we're focusing on the partnerships we have. That's not to say we won't take on any new ones if they're right. But we're focusing more on fewer partners driving the business for us. We're fully aligned and we have a set go-to-market strategy in place with them. It's bearing fruit for us."

CA has rejigged its partner programme as part of the partner push, introducing two new levels - top-tier Global, and next-in-line Focus - on top of the existing structure of Premier, Advanced and Member levels.

Global level is for big, strategic partners it works with around the world, and Focus is for partners that count CA among a small number of select partners.

When asked if CA's move away from direct has been met with any cynicism from the channel, Ashbrook said no.

"We've not had a lot of pushback from partners," she said. "Partners say 'I didn't know CA did all that stuff - you're the mainframe guys. Effectively, we're taking clients from where they are to the heart of building software as a business. We've got real traction with focused partners at the moment."