Avaya overhauls partner programme in APAC

Expanding financial benefits

Business communications provider Avaya announced recently the overhaul of its channel programme in the Asia Pacific region, aiming to create a globally consistent framework across all its regional channel partners.

The refurbished programme, Avaya said, is set to expand financial benefits, enhance technical, marketing, and sales support, and provide a highly effective yet simplified training and certification programme for its partners.

"The idea is simple. By building stronger connections with our partners and enabling them to be successful, we can reach farther to better serve customers," said Chee Heng Loon, managing director, channels and alliances, Avaya Asia Pacific.

"Avaya Connect fundamentally helps drive consideration and closure of Avaya solutions, enables our partners to engage more customers with our innovative products and services portfolio, and provides customers better choices to move their businesses forward."

The company said it has trimmed its pricing model into a single, unified price list for faster development of quotes, allowing completion of application in just under two hours.

Among the major changes, the vendor pointed out, include the shift from a product-based training to solutions-based training in its training and certification programme.

"The new programme has been streamlined from nearly 70 learning and certification tracks to six solutions-based tracks, reducing time commitment by up to 50 percent," it explained.

Incentives and discounts will likewise be given to partners who escalate their levels of competency and specialisations, it added. Moreover, Avaya is extending its Services Expert and Small and Medium Enterprise Expert specialisations globally, recognising partners that have developed a strong services or small-mid-size enterprise practice, which were previously only available in North America.

Avaya Connect will be operational globally come February 1, 2010, to aid existing partners in the transition, it clarified.