Cross Channel: New Box Partner Portal, Channel Faces Tough Competition

Welcome to Cross Channel, a weekly round up of the most pertinent stories from our sister site ChannelBiz, where you can find out all the latest developments, views and strategies from the world of the channel.

Box ignites channel activity with new partner portal

Box has launched a new partner portal to support partners internationally, claiming it is committed to building its channel programme in EMEA.

The cloud collaboration software vendor describes the portal as “a one-stop shop for Box partners’ channel-related needs.”

“Working effectively with channel partners is important for our growth, and adding support with our new partner portal is a key step to strengthening our relationships and building a robust partner network,” said David Benjamin, SVP and GM of EMEA, at Box. “We’re delighted to provide additional support for our partners as we commit to building a robust programme in the region.”

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Veeam calls on channel partners to pursue enterprise growth

Veeam Software is making the enterprise the focal point of agressive growth plans in 2017, according to the vendor’s UK&I head of channel, Mark Johnson.

The software vendor, which offers backup to virtual, physical and cloud platforms, this week announced 28 percent YoY growth and $607.4m in total revenue bookings, fuelled, it says, by accelerated enterprise and cloud revenues.

The vendor launched several products targeted at enterprise customers in 2016, including the Veeam Availability Platform for the Hybrid Cloud, and the Veeam Availability Suite 9.5. By the end of the year, it counted 73 percent of the Fortune 500 and 56 percent of the Global 2000 as customers, while the number of new enterprise customers grew 48.6 percent to 761 over the same period.

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Channel Facing Tough New Competition says CompTIA

The channel is facing a period of tremendous change, with the industry facing up to emerging business models and technologies, new competitors and an aging channel base.

That’s according to technology association CompTIA, which highlighted a rapidly changing channel landscape where digital agencies, marketing firms, accountants and other non-traditional partners are now selling or recommending IT solutions.

“The SaaS ecosystem alone is reinventing what it means to be ‘in the channel’, with a new take on vendor relationships, selling strategies and compensation demands,” said CompTIA’s IT Industry Outlook 2017 report.

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