Amazon Consulting’s Approach to a Unified Global Partner Program

by Diane Krakora – CEO

In our previous blog post, we introduced Quest Software and its business partner needs. Unifying the channel program for Quest and its partner community became a vital corporate priority. Quest engaged Amazon Consulting to help build collaboration with industry partners, increase opportunities for partners to grow sales and profitability and deliver greater customer satisfaction.

Quest was able to organize the company’s 150+ product offerings into seven core solution specializations. Amazon consultants also advised Quest on how to structure a three-tiered program of vendor/partner relationships. We formulated clear rules of partner engagement and a predictable investment model for pricing, discounts, services and opportunity management.

We helped Quest develop technical training and certification guidelines that would validate and distinguish the competencies and expertise required to sell and deliver Quest products, solutions and services. These steps were designed to enable certified partners to increase their profitability and gain a unique competitive advantage. Amazon consultants prepared a roadmap for the introduction and announcement of the new ‘Quest Partner Circle’ program at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

‘Quest Partner Circle’ is a single, global framework that provides a common set of requirements, benefits and consistent rules of engagement for partners. We think the program’s transparent and predictable engagement model helps to create new opportunities for revenue generation by empowering Quest Circle Partners to sell the full breadth Quest’s solution offerings.

Quest Software is now seeing heightened levels of collaboration with partners as a result of the new marketing tools and programs, discounts, incentives and robust sales and technical training. ‘Quest Partner Circle,’ still early in its evolution, has been well received by Quest partners and industry analysts alike, who see the program as confirmation of the company’s commitment to building a strong foundation for engaging, educating and recruiting partners of all types and sizes.