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Compellent Launches The Elevate Partner Program
Selective program expansion enables business partners to reach new markets for network storage
Minneapolis, November 17, 2003 - Compellent, a rapidly emerging network storage company, today announced the Elevate Partner Program. The program enables a select group of business partners to reach new storage markets by transforming their pain points into business growth opportunities. Led by network storage and virtualization pioneers, Compellent will introduce its products during the first quarter of 2004, and distribute them exclusively through Elevate partners.
"The Elevate Partner Program specifically addresses our partners' biggest challenges — eroding margins, direct competition from storage manufacturers, and the inability to generate ongoing professional services revenue," said Phil Soran, president and chief executive officer of Compellent. "We will limit membership to a select group of business partners and focus 100% of our resources on helping them succeed."
"Compellent's early focus on developing a leading channel program indicates the experience and foresight behind the company's strategy," said Randy Kerns, partner for the Evaluator Group, a network storage analyst group. "From what I have seen, the network storage channel is ripe for this kind of innovative distribution program."
Elevate Program Overview
Channel-Focused Strategy Without A Compellent Direct Sales Force
Unlike other manufacturers who tap resellers for distribution but ultimately compete with them via direct sales, Compellent has no direct sales force. Compellent limits the number of business partners in each geographic market and focuses all resources on helping partners control and close deals.
Accelerated Market Development Via The Compellent Customer Council (C3)
Business partners and their customers participate in a series of structured meetings accelerating the time to assess and deploy effective storage solutions. The feedback on customers' storage requirements helps business partners refine their offerings and quickly generate new business opportunities.
Differentiated Partner Offerings Through Unique Service Opportunities
Business partners capture high value service revenue by combining their own planning and management services with Compellent's fully integrated hardware and software offerings to provide customized, differentiated solutions to their customers. Compellent does not offer direct professional services, eliminating services competition business partners often face from other manufacturers.
One Program For All Partners Through Level Pricing And A Level Playing Field.
Compellent provides all business partners an equal opportunity to differentiate themselves through their own value added capabilities. Instead of assigning partners to artificial tiers that limit their ability to engage new customers, Compellent offers all partners one price from which they determine how to define, build, and implement a total storage solution customized to client needs.
What Compellent Partners Are Saying
"I have already enjoyed incredible success as a partner in Compellent's Elevate program," said Jim Stover, managing partner for Clear North Technologies. "The Compellent Customer Council structure enables me to quickly build successful customer relationships. The forum helps tremendously in identifying new business opportunities and generating new sales."
"Compellent's partner program truly puts the value back into the hands of the value-added reseller," said John Dusek III, president of Convergent Storage Solutions. "With Compellent foregoing direct sales and providing us with complete SAN solutions, we can bring this exciting technology directly to clients, and assist them with high-value professional services."
To learn more about the Elevate Partner Program visit www.compellent.com or email partner@compellent.com.
About Compellent
Compellent delivers affordable, integrated network storage solutions exclusively through business partners that provide any size company big system capabilities without big system cost or complexity. Designed by network storage and virtualization pioneers, Compellent enables any business to purchase significantly less storage, recover from data hazards within minutes, scale to any capacity across any technology, and manage its storage without adding staff. Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn., Compellent has raised more than $23 million in financing from leading investors including Cargill Ventures, Crescendo Ventures and El Dorado Ventures. For more information, visit www.compellent.com.
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