Platinum Tier Added to Autodesk Partner Program

Autodesk is adding a fourth tier to its Autodesk Partner Program, giving Autodesk resellers another level to achieve as the company redesigns its partner program to add greater value for its partner base. The new Platinum Tier will replace the Autodesk Gold Partner Tier as the highest attainable level for Autodesk VARs.

The company’s current format includes Bronze tier, which includes resellers of Autodesk’s AUTOCAD family of solutions; Silver tier, consisting of partners who have met Autodesk’s standard for industry expertise, certified staff, customer support and product knowledge; and Gold tier, which includes partners who have proven their ability to sell Autodesk’s complete software solutions. The new Platinum Tier is meant to help customers more easily identify Autodesk resellers that provide the highest level of value and increase the amount of benefits for VARs attaining Platinum tier status.

“There will be a margin differentiation among tiers,” said Autodesk Vice President of Worldwide Channels Roland Zelles. Specifics on margins, however, are “not yet available for public consumption” because the new tiering system will be coming out later this year, he added.

“We are migrating from one-size-fits-all to a huge differential among tiers. That’s especially true when talking about the difference from Bronze to Platinum,” said Autodesk Vice President of Americas Channel Sales Bill Griffin. “There may not be a huge difference from one tier to another, but when you’re talking about a several-tier jump, you will see a big difference.” 

To earn Platinum Tier status, resellers will have to meet the Autodesk standard for industry expertise and complete all training and certification requirements through the Autodesk Partner Certification program. The company certified more than 20,000 partners last year, the first year of the program.

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