14 January 2010

Polycom has revamped its solution provider partner program in an attempt to drive more growth with its most invested partners and capitalize on channel discontent stemming from Cisco (NSDQ:CSCO)'s acquisition of Tandberg.

The new program, which Polycom will officially launch April 1, offers tiered partner levels and a certification program that according to Polycom will urge VARs to specialize in particular product segments and vertical markets.

Polycom's Choice Program, revealed to VARs this month, is one of three new channel programs and will focus on Polycom's VARs, A/V integrators, regional systems integrators and service providers, as well as retailers, distributors and direct market resellers. Its other programs are the Alliance Program, focusing on global system integrators, OEMs and strategic vendor partners, and its Arena Program, focused on technology partners and application providers.

"We are realigning our channel strategy and our program investments to reward and pay back the investment that solution providers have made in Polycom," said Maurizio Capuzzo, Polycom's vice president of Global Channel Marketing. "We're doing it right now because we have the breadth and depth of solutions, and it's the right time to help partners grow given the market consolidation."

A wave of consolidation in the video space last fall -- Cisco's purchase of Tandberg and Logitech's acquisition of LifeSize Communications being the most obvious examples -- have left Polycom the lone remaining independent videoconferencing vendor of scale.

According to Capuzzo, that means the time to firm up Polycom's channel and get aggressive is now, while the channel strategies of both Tandberg and LifeSize are being reconciled with their new owners.

"The consolidation effort is creating a void to the partners," he argued. "A lot of partners are scratching their heads and asking right now, will Cisco-Tandberg bring my margins down? Polycom is a leader and has the strongest market share in the space, and we're here to empower unified communications and make it easier for partners to do business with us."

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