Vendor: 'Why it took nine months to name our top VAR'

After a lengthy wait since its partner programme launch, one vendor has finally named its first ever top-tier partner. So what took so long?

After launching its partner programme nine months ago, SUSE has finally named Securelinx as its first top-tier partner for the UK and Ireland.

The open source software firm has given Securelinx the Solution Partner title - the highest tier in the SUSE partner programme. The others tiers are Accredited Partner and Registered Partner.

Mark Salter, global vice president of channels at SUSE, explained to CRN why the decision took so long.

"We wanted to take time to choose the right Solution Partner. Almost anyone can be a Registered Partner, as there is a low barrier. However, a Solution Partner is someone we are going to bet our business on and we want the same back.

"So we took our time to choose which company to focus on, built a plan with them, put that in place, made sure they have support before we then made the announcement that they have reached that [Solution Partner] level.

"We have had a relationship with Securelinx for a long time as a partner and the fact they wanted to make the commitment to us meant we wanted to look at them in some depth."

Salter said the firm's new partner programme was launched to enable a more customer-centric approach, rather than rewarding pure volume.

"We felt we did something quite radical and different. Our old partner programme, like many others, was tiered gold, silver and platinum based on performance revenue and growth. But we wanted a partner programme focused on our customers," he said.

"We now reward partners for having skills, commitment and certification, so we can be assured that customers get a great experience. This is different to rewarding firms for just selling more SUSE products."

"We also want these partners to have deep technical skills and knowledge that they are prepared to maintain and update, so that customers get the right experience and are able to get the most value from our products."

Despite how long it took Securelinx, Salter insisted that the next Solution Provider announcement is much nearer than nine months away.

"Right now around the world we are bubbling up a small number of good-quality Solution Partners who are working to get to that stage," he added.