Schneider Electric, known in the channel as APC in year’s past, has launched a new global channel partner program with a number of new enhancements.
Called the APC by Schneider Electric Global Channel Partner Program, this new effort by the power and cooling vendor from France will target more than 100,000 solution providers and includes strategic changes to both the organization and the program. There is also a change of focus from Schneider Electric with this new channel program as it will try to enhanced profitability for solution providers, add support, enablement and attempt to improve the overall experience for the partner.
Rob McKernan, senior vice president of global IT channels for the company, said success as a business is now directly tied to the success of channel partners.
“It is critical that we align our organization to best support and enable our partners. The more we can bring global channel partners into developing conversations, the better we’ll be able to drive solutions and revenue streams that are mutually beneficial,” he added.
McKernan is also the new channel chief of Schneider Electric and will be tasked to oversee global alliances, partner programs, home and business networks products, customer care centres, channel marketing, channel operations and commercial sales teams in specific regions.
Schneider Electric said the company has seen channel partners move to a more diverse business model to include managed services and this program is trying to evolved with them. Key enhancements to APC by Schneider Electric’s Global Channel Partner Program are:
A segment on profitable growth: To drive business for partners, APC by Schneider Electric will provide partners with programs that capitalize on industry trends and needs, including a lead generation Partner Opportunity Program (POP), an Opportunity Registration Program (ORP) and rewards and marketing development funds.
Specialized Enablement section: APC by Schneider Electric is introducing specialized certification paths that align with our partners’ business needs.
Streamlined support: Partners now have new tools for information, training and support along with expanded capital on new managed services revenue streams.
Partner experiences: As a result of continuous enhancements to the structure and content of APC by Schneider Electric’s secure partner Web pages with new content updates available regularly. New partners resources reflect the most critical IT aspects of their respective industries.