The Intel Partner Alliance: All for One and One for All

Intel’s new partner program, which officially opened its doors last month, turns three previously separate offerings into one. By Rich Freeman

Gold partners get additional benefits, such as the ability to earn and display competency badges and attend the annual Intel Partner Connect conference. Titanium partners get everything Gold partners do plus an account manager, eligibility for MDF, and more.

Both Gold and Titanium partners can also create a storefront in the Intel Solutions Marketplace, a site based on the earlier IoT Solutions Marketplace that partners can use to promote hardware, software, and services to end users as well as fellow partners seeking complementary products for jointly marketed solutions.

No One Left Behind

Intel gave partners an initial tier assignment (based on their sales and other activities over the prior 18 months, rather than the usual 12, to prevent anyone from being penalized by the COVID-19 economic slowdown) late last year. They’ll retain that status through December and then move up or down in the program in 2022 based on the prior year’s performance.

Step one for all partners, however, is officially activating their new account by logging into the Partner Alliance portal and completing a simple onboarding process. Intel is working hard to make its busy partners aware of that important requirement.

“Our objective is 100% activation of every partner that we’ve migrated,” Thompson says. “We don’t want to leave anyone behind or lose any partners in this transition.”