NetApp targets cloud storage with new reseller certification

VARs joining the new NetApp (NTAP) Partner Program for Service Providers will gain access to a wider range of tools delivered by NetApp, including technical, training and service benefits, as well as marketing and sales support, all geared to allow service providers to differentiate their services.

NetApp, which sells entirely through the channel in Europe, is offering a joint sales and marketing approach which in the view of Robert Fuller, vice president of worldwide channel sales at Rackspace (RAX), a major NetApp Service Provider Partner, “… opens up sales channels for us that previously did not exist.
Sales model
“The collaborative sales model... strengthens our relationship not only with NetApp but also with NetApp VARs, allowing us to work together to secure new cloud customers and help our joint customers make a smooth and successful transition to the cloud,” Fuller adds.

Rackspace, which is launching its first UK public cloud infrastructure, later this year, is one of the first large NetApp Service Provider Partners and a potential intermediary for other NetApp partners looking to resell cloud storage while retaining customer relationships.

VARs can directly align with NetApp preferred service providers to offer cloud solutions to the end customer. This allows VARs to meet demand for cloud services and grow their business without investing in new datacentres.
Pathways to market
“A fundamental component of the NetApp growth strategy is our ability to develop differentiated pathways to market,” says Julie Parrish, vice president of global channel sales for NetApp. “Integrating service providers into our innovative NetApp Partner Program is key to this strategy and provides important focus on partners that can enable our enterprise customers’ move to cloud environments.”

The launch of a standardised service provider certification could also make it easier for end customers to change NetApp partner post deployment as well as providing reassurance that a VAR has competence in the delivering storage via the cloud.