Manufacturers need to be able to qualify and forecast opportunities in their channel partner’s sales pipeline. By Sanjiv Chopra. Over the past few years, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the computing, telecom and networking equipment sectors have improved their ability to sell directly to customers or resellers, either online or through their own sales forces. Channel sales partnerships must be symbiotic relationships between Vendors and Partners. Of course, in order to develop a mutually beneficial relationship, you need to invest time and effort to attract and retain high-performing channel sales Partners who are equally inclined to sell your solutions. ABB’s channel partner network includes several levels of partnership with matching requirements. At the top are the ABB Value Providers, ABB’s most intimate channel partners, authorized to the highest level and with a proven track record. These partners bear the ABB Value Provider label.

• What Is Channel Partner
• Channel Partner Drivers
• Channel Partner Distributor Management
• Channel Partner Driver Salary

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the intelligent edge platform for securing and delivering digital experiences, today announces a new Akamai Partner Program that significantly expands and supports channel partners' ability to deliver high-value services to their customers. Partners will migrate into the new program over a 6-month transition period.

'We recognize the crucial role our channel partners play in Akamai's growth and success,' said Dr. Tom Leighton, co-founder and chief executive officer, Akamai Technologies. 'The new Akamai Partner Program unleashes our partners' potential, enabling them to build highly rewarding businesses around our intelligent edge products, while delivering great value to their customers.'

The new Akamai Partner Program builds upon and expands the company's existing channel partner program, providing greater flexibility, support, and financial incentives. At its core is a new enablement program that offers partners the training, certifications and support to independently sell and service Akamai products successfully.

Partners can now choose Basic or Advanced Certification levels, with additional training options and pricing incentives for Advanced Partners. Role-based mentoring by Akamai experts gives Advanced Partners the know-how to build a robust practice around Akamai solutions. The new, robust Certification Program is designed to help partner organizations and professionals enhance their market recognition and competitive advantage.

The new Partner Program also expands the options for engagement with Akamai: as a solution provider, a fulfillment partner, or a global systems integrator. This allows organizations to align their Akamai partnership with their own business models. Solution providers now have the ability to serve all of their customers' Akamai product needs independently—from sales to service and support. They can serve as a single, trusted, 'go-to' resource, strengthening customer relationships and improving their business outcomes. Drivers mediatek input devices.

Financial incentives have also been realigned to emphasize greater rewards for partners that deliver greater value to their customers with Akamai solutions. Certified partners that deliver more services to customers benefit the most, maximizing the return on their investment in service delivery resources. In addition, Akamai's tiered sales value structure has been updated to provide globally consistent benefits.

'We have designed our program to offer partners more flexibility, the opportunity for better profitability and more resources to deliver value-added services to their customers.' said Micheal McCollough, Global Vice President, Channels and Alliances at Akamai. 'Certified partners that deliver more services to customers benefit the most, maximizing the return on their investment in service delivery resources. We believe this new and improved program will strengthen Akamai's position as the partner of choice in our market space.'

About Akamai
Akamai secures and delivers digital experiences for the world's largest companies. Akamai's intelligent edge platform surrounds everything, from the enterprise to the cloud, so customers and their businesses can be fast, smart, and secure. Top brands globally rely on Akamai to help them realize competitive advantage through agile solutions that extend the power of their multi-cloud architectures. Akamai keeps decisions, apps and experiences closer to users than anyone — and attacks and threats far away. Akamai's portfolio of edge security, web and mobile performance, enterprise access and video delivery solutions is supported by unmatched customer service, analytics and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn why the world's top brands trust Akamai, visit www.akamai.com, blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter. You can find our global contact information at www.akamai.com/locations.

What Is Channel Partner

Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
This release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai's management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, the inability of Akamai or its partners to realize the benefits of the new program discussed, future changes in the design of the program, a failure of Akamai's network infrastructure, and other factors that are discussed in Akamai's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Fallon
617-610-5641
sfallon@akamai.com

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SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.

Having the right channel partner program starts with getting the right partners and then making sure you really understand their business requirements and priorities.

Have a Robust Partner Profile

The best way to get the right partners is to make sure you have a well-defined idea of your ideal partner, and then vet prospective partners through a partner profile.

There is no one size fits all partner profile. Your profile needs to gather the information needed to understand your partners in relation to the program. Consider including the following components of their business:

• Where they do business
• Who their customers are
• What they sell (complimentary & competitive)
• Business goals
• Company demographic information
• Specializations

For partners that you already have, a review of the data you’ve gathered (deal registrations, MDF results, etc.) will provide insight. For data that is missing, work with the partner to collect any gaps to understand if they are still a good fit. For those that are a fit but may be underperforming, this opens a great opportunity to re-engage, create a business plan between you and your partner, and work towards new goals.

A robust partner profile will help you understand who your partners are and allow you to identify trends across your channel partner program. This is the first step to knowing your partners.

Channel Partner Drivers

Understand Your Partner’s Business

This might sound like a challenging task, but it could be the key to making sure you are truly aligned with your partners. Understanding your partner’s business goes beyond profiling data and into the details of their business. Here are some things to consider when diving deeper into your partner’s business:

• Understand their timelines – Not everyone runs on the same fiscal calendar. This can make planning tricky, but knowing what you are up against will help you maximize timing. This will help you better plan the use of marketing funds and promotions.
• Determine what systems they use – Do they have a CRM? Are they using a marketing platform? Is their website updated often? Understanding these components will help you understand how sophisticated your partners are. You will also be able to identify ways to help them sell your products and align with the way they can do business.
• Gather their business goals – Knowing your partner’s business goals is crucial to long-term alignment. Look for goals that are common to your partners. This will help you develop programs and content that will align you and your partners long term.

Identify your Partner’s Strengths (and Weaknesses)

Channel Partner Distributor Management

Not all partners are created equal. Getting to know your partner means understanding where they shine and where they don’t. This often means understanding their technical level of expertise. It could also encompass the various services they offer and their certifications and specializations. This can be a tricky area to navigate, as you and your channel managers might have to go with your gut instinct and leverage customer references. When analyzing partner strengths consider:

• Understand the team within the partner –What are their backgrounds? How long have they been with the company/in the industry? What are their roles?
• Evaluate their customers – Who are their customers? Do they align with your products and services? Are they happy?
• Look at their offerings – Are they focused on the things they do well? Do they have a value-add for the customer?

Channel Partner Driver Salary

Understanding your partners’ strengths will help you align your business with theirs. If there is not a logical match, you may need to re-evaluate your relationship.

Don’t stop with understanding who your partners are. Nurture those relationships to create success for both your channel partner program, and them. For more information on building a strong partner relationship, read our eBook: 5 keys to building strong relationships in Channel Marketing.