Independence IT Overhauls Partner Program

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IndependenceIT on Tuesday announced the Cloud Start Initiative, a replacement program for its current one-size fits all partner program. Cloud Start Initiative will extend to existing partners and new partners that the company hopes to attract.

The new three-tiered program – Cloud Start, Cloud Start Pro, and Cloud Elite – complements IndependenceIT’s cloud management platform with a new pricing framework for both out-of-the-box and customized solution enablement, according to the vendor.

“We’re very excited because from our perspective the new program is a great way for MSPs to get started in the cloud with cloud services. The old model program is going away and this new multi-tier approach model based on the revenue volume of a partner’s business is how we’re moving forward,” Seth Bostock, CEO of IndependenceIT told us.

The three tiers include different pricing options:

The Cloud Start Initiative, announced ahead of this week’s Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit in Bellevue, Washington, signals a change for IndependenceIT’s partners. The company says they can expect to see program elements roll out over the course of the year — in particular, certifications which were never a part of the program before.{ad}

Training and go-to-market initiatives, such as a webinar series, are included in the Cloud Start Initiative program. In the webinars, partners will learn how to deploy application services from public and hybrid cloud; deploy workspaces from a public or hybrid cloud, and learn how to manage, and also optimize those environments such as how to control costs, simplify management and how to drive their margin, according to Bostock.

IndependenceIT launched a new portal for partners and new collateral. Partners will see new education components such as certifications this calendar year.