nuBridges announces new partner program 4 May, 2008 By Vanessa Ho

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The Ally Partner Program is a first of its kind for nuBridges and was developed because one of the company's goals for 2008 was to expand its addressable market.

"Historically, we've relied almost 100 per cent on a direct sales force," said Kim Addington, chief marketing officer with nuBridges. "We really feel the time is right to capitalize more quickly on opportunities and partners are a great conduit to the kinds of customer relationships that are necessary to escort security technology and file transfer technology into the enterprise.

She added that the program is strategically important for the company's growth objectives and success for this year and beyond.

There are two levels of reseller partner participation that accommodate the various sales, professional services and support capabilities of its members. The first level is Pinnacle and partners at this level provide the highest level of expertise and the ability to support and implement nuBridges' products with their end users. The second level is called Certified. Partners at this level are smaller in size than those in the Pinnacle level and are also not able to provide the same number of resources as Pinnacle but they will be able to provide the same level of knowledge for things like technical support and help desk.

In addition there is a third level called Affiliate, which is a referral option for partners who prefer to recommend.

Addington said that the Ally Partner Program will provide partners at the Pinnacle and Certified levels with technical training and certification as well as marketing support and trade show support. Additionally, there are different margins for the two levels based on the number of resources they agree to train and certify for both pre-sales and support and implementation. Revenue attainment for reaching certain goals will also earn them greater margins.

According to Addington, ideal partners for the program include solution providers who specialize in software and hardware environments where nuBridges has unique offerings such as Oracle, IBM System z and System i and HP Non-Stop. nuBridges is also looking to top-tier global systems integrators like Cap Gemini and EDS as potential partners for the program.

"These are large companies that give us a global footprint because they are not just involved in the business side but also do the implementation," said Greg Grant, director of business development with nuBriges.

But he added that the program can also be ideal for smaller regional specialty shops because they bring a more intimate relationship with end users as the companies are more localized, more affordable and are more keenly aware with SMBs and what their IT and business problems are.

Future plans for the program include developing an online partner portal and the ability for partners to register deals using the portal. Currently, partners register opportunities with Grant, who then records it in the company's CRM system in order to track it and give account protection.

The nuBridges Ally Partner Program is available now to qualified organizations. The program currently has four partners at the Pinnacle level and four at the Certified level and 11 affiliate partners that are spread across North America, South America, the UK and Asia Pacific.

Grant hopes to add another eight more partners in each of the Pinnacle and Certified levels before the end of the year.