Symantec 'preferences' specialised partners

Symantec has launched its revamped partner program which encourages partners to specialise in a number of competencies.

Announced last April, Symantec spent much of the year training and certifying partners in preparation for this month's offical launch, while it gradually rolled out various competencies throughout the year.

Symantec channel vice-president David Dzienciol told CRN that the certification exam did not have a 100 percent pass rate.

“Some didn’t get through the exam and went back and studied a little. It showed there was real quality. We were pleased that people took it seriously,” he said.

Dzienciol said in the next 12 months the company would "unlock the value of being specialised and ensure we deliver on the commitments we’ve made."

Those partners, he said, would "reap the benefits" over others, although resellers that weren't specialised could continue to buy Symantec products from distributors.

“Benefits are to be prioritised to those partners. If you’re specialised you’ll get preference from Symantec.

“They will see deeper focus and preference when it comes to campaigns and access to rebates. As we build more products those partners will be the first in the beta,” he said.

Specialisations

Symantec released four core competencies when it first announced its the program 12 months ago.

Those included: endpoint management; small to medium business; data loss prevention; and data specialisation.

Throughout the year it added encryption, enterprise and IT compliance specialisation, e-discovery and archiving.

It also added “master specialisations” for partners to provide "deep" services around their chosen competencies.

Dzienciol said Australia saw “more volume around the small and medium business specialisation during the roll-out.

“We have hundreds because it’s designed to sell our SMB technologies. And it’s really designed for those partners that want to take technical and sales accreditation."