Security vendor Blue Coat has launched a new programme to help partners provide support services to clients.
Authorised, premier and elite-level members of the existing Blue Coat Channel Advantage scheme can sign up for Blue Touch, then choose the type and amount of support they provide in conjunction with Blue Coat, says Australia/New Zealand country manager Wayne Neich.
“At the high-end, they can offer a variety of support services such as their own engineers on site, buying spares themselves, providing their own telephone support and basically being the first point of contact for the customer and then work with Blue Coat on the back-end,” Neich says.
“At the other end partners can choose to use Blue Coat more in the post-sales support for their customers.”
By undertaking training, partners can reach higher skill levels and get progressively discounted pricing on the support services from Blue Coat.
Blue Coat has also recently acquired Packeteer and on 1 August will introduce a Fast Track programme to enable each company’s channel members to sell products from both firms.
In New Zealand, Distribution Central distributes Blue Coat, while Westcon Group distributes Packeteer. Neich says there will be no distribution changes here “at this stage”.
Meanwhile, Blue Coat has recruited David Adams, who has previously worked for Revera and NetApp, as New Zealand sales manager. Neich says a local representative was key for the company’s future.
“For the business to grow at the rate we want it to grow, we needed a Kiwi selling to Kiwis. His job is to build up the Blue Coat channel in New Zealand and to raise the profile of the solution within enterprise, government and the SME market.”
The vendor also intends to hire a Wellington-based engineer to bring its local headcount to three.
