Continuous investment on our partners to help them become innovative will be the key for us

What would be Symantec's channel strategy for the year 2010?

This year, you will see a whole lot of programs exclusively for our existing
and future channel partners. In fact, we have already started various programs
such as Partner Specializations, offering them 'Rebates' and the 'Real Deal'
concept which is applicable to the Symantec partners worldwide. 'Symantec
Partner Specializations' are designed to recognize solutions expertise of our
partners and this will help them differentiate and grow their businesses.
Partners can demonstrate their proven ability to plan, design, implement, and
manage Symantec solutions to both customers and other partners. Secondly, as far
as the 'Rebates' are concerned, we will offer them to eligible partners on
qualifying products sold, helping the partners to increase margins and selling
opportunities. Lastly, there is an incentive driven program called the 'Real
Deal', that rewards channel partners for driving incremental and new license
sales for our core products. To name a few, more important initiatives by our
company, 'The New Specializations Program' which deals with the value addition
to the customer and programs like 'Opportunity Registration' are also included
in our strategy.

How much importance does Symantec give to its partners?

Symantec's success depends on the success of its channel partners. Our
partner size is increasing everyday and they are a critical part of our
go-to-market strategy. We want our partners to be successful, different and more
strategic in front of customers. Hence, continuous investment on our partners so
that they can be innovative will be the key for us. In the ongoing year, you
will definitely see a whole lot of programs which will benefit the partners in a
big way.

What kind of traction are you seeing in the security and surveillance
market?

I believe that the security and surveillance market is poised to grow
exponentially this year. The next phase of growth in the IT market will be
driven by this segment. In fact we are already working with our partners to
ensure that they are trained for the opportunities ahead. We truly believe that
our partners are the ones who will not only take us through this growth curve
but will also help us in retaining our market leadership. That is why we are
emphasizing on specializations for our partners.

What is your take on your competitors in the Indian market and how is
Symantec different from them?

As far as the competition is concerned it is always healthy and it keeps us
on our toes all the time. It does not bother us if the market is flooded with
more players now. There is plenty of space available in which all of us can
co-exist. We believe in offering quality products and we are also very flexible
in terms of our customer policy. This is what gives us the edge over others in
the market.

Bharat Sharma

bharats@cybermedia.co.in