Topic: Partner Programs - Page 57

In an announcement timed to coincide with Microsoft’s partner conference this week, the distributor introduced new services aimed at helping resellers design, build, and manage Azure-based infrastructure solutions.

Called One Commercial Partner, it brings all of Microsoft’s partner resources together in one place and is backed by $250 million in new investments and a new set of embeddable cloud-based services for Azure software developers.

The new options are designed to make selling the vendor’s virtual machine backup solution easier for MSPs.

Aimed at driving sales of HPE server, storage, and networking products, the new “Heighten and Elevate Revenue Opportunity” program provides training and marketing materials, plus access to support resources and dedicated solution specialists.

Called Project Domination and targeted at members of Microsoft’s soon-to-be-retired Online Services Advisor program, the campaign offers up to 90 days of free Office 365 service, plus free support.

Combining the distributor’s old and new assets is benefitting partners in tangible ways already, Americas president Joe Quaglia (pictured) says, including an expanded, consolidated line card and access to managed security offerings.

Both markets, company leaders tell ChannelPro during the 2017 Lenovo Accelerate partner conference, are lucrative “profit pools” that have received diminished attention in recent years amid Lenovo’s push into the server and storage hardware fields.†

Announced on opening day of the distributor’s 8th annual Cloud Summit event, the new benefits make increasing the size of cloud deals and monetizing internally developed cloud products easier for its partners.†

Newly added features, which include analytics and orchestration functionality and an enhanced user interface, position the distributor to turn Odin into a comprehensive platform for provisioning, orchestrating, and managing†cloud-based software and infrastructure.

The new release, which adds deduplication, boot from backup functionality, and support for Windows Server 2016, arrives amid a U.S. channel recruitment push.