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I spent last week in England and Germany. In between some great food and beer I was able to have several outstanding meetings with channel partners. Channels rule in EMEA! On the way back I was reflecting on why that is. Certainly the disparate cultures create the need for customized sales and hiring employees in every country can be expensive. Also, the labor laws in Europe tend to make it easier to hire indirect. And while both of those are contributing factors, I think the biggest factor is the maturity of the channel in EMEA and the tremendous value they can add. In addition to being routes to market, they also are well equipped to offer excellent service – both professional and break-fix service. As part of our transition to more of a software company, Egenera has also changed its sales model to be more indirect. And while we’ll always have a direct sales force, we will build a strong channel and territories such as EMEA that are natural fits. Our channel program was announced in Q4 of 2010, we’ve already signed 20 great channel partners. Our strategy is quality, not quantity. We are looking for partners that act as “trusted advisors” to the customer. Those that can articulate our strong value proposition and position appropriately with the customers. Let’s face it, there are a lot of confusing marketing messages in the Converged Infrastructure space. There are much bigger companies that can spend much more money marketing their story, even if they have half the functionality of a product like PAN Manager. However, when it comes to the enterprise data center, customers want more than marketing; they need real tangible benefits. That is where a great trusted advisor channel partner can help. They can help the customer understand the differences between where a product is today versus a company vision. And while some companies pay lip service to the channel, stealing business away whenever they can, we at Egenera enable our channel partners. We don’t compete on service and allow the channel to create a healthy business of their own – a two way street. I see more and more companies trying to build a channel model. When done correctly, it can be very successful. When done incorrectly (e.g. competing for the business or not leaving enough business for the partner) it can be a disaster. At Egenera, we are preparing for significant growth by assembling a first class channel program with top tier resellers and channel partners. The results will be a significant win for the customer. After all, isn’t that what it is all about?