EMC rolls out partner program to enhance their bottomline

EMC Data Storage Systems has introduced the Velocity Partner partner program with three different tiers. Partners doing business worth $250,000 fall under the reseller category, while those doing $2 million and $5 million business fall under the partner and the premier partner category. 

Says David Elliott, Director, Alliance and Partners, ASEAN, EMC, "This program offers partners up to 7% additional margins, if they satisfy a pre-requisite target set us. Here we are taking about the value business and not volume business." 

EMC has Redington as its distributor and Tata Elexi, Wipro, HCL Infosystems, HCL and Tata Infotech as its partners. It has 10 resellers and does not plan to add more to this network. "We are looking for quality resellers who are very focused and willing to learn about our technology."

Talking about the company's expansion plans Rajesh Janey, Director, Channels and Alliances, India says "In our first phase, we want to go to 10 to 12 major cities and make our presence felt. We would be associating only with those partners who have a sound understanding about storage solutions. In the second phase in January 2005, we will approach B- and C-class cities." The company will roll out road shows in association with Redington by September this year, to cover eight to ten cities. 

EMC plans to invest $100 million in the country within five years and David feels that a large chunk of this will be utilized in partner education and training. The company has a research and development center in Bangalore where it employs 100 engineers who are dedicated in developing open source software. 

Abhrajit Bhattacharjee, Manager, Corporate Communications, India and SAARC, notes that the company grew by 400% in the JFM quarter over the same period last year. "This was possible because we are concentrating on the mid-tier segment," he adds. 

ATANU KUMAR DAS