As a channel-oriented company, Symantec places a high priority on partner feedback. |
Consumers are different from small-business customers. We needed to do a much better job of making it clear what we have and the opportunity for our channel partners. |
Deal registration is a great way to do that. |
It's only for those partners who are authorized to sell our enterprise-type products, so this isn't really for the lower-end Windows-based anti-virus and backup type products. |
It's very important to partners that we bring this out slowly. We've been tracking and measuring partners predominantly on volume, which doesn't recognize our smaller partners. |
Launching the new partner program less than one year after one of the largest software mergers in history is a testament to Symantec's commitment to its partners and our unswerving focus on delivering both the programs and infrastructure to help ensure our mutual success in the market. Our partners are a valuable part of our company, and they are key to delivering value to customers. This first phase of the new partner program will provide partners with a simple, complete framework for doing business with Symantec. |
Ours is similar to other opportunity registration programs that are out there. And the basic concept is that companies provide additional margin opportunities for partners who register opportunities with them. |
The reason that we believe this is a really important program is it helps us proactively avoid channel conflict, particularly between partners that might be competing in deals and on occasions when Symantec and a partner are competing for the same deal. By registering the deal, we know who got there first. |