Tintri Unifies Global Channel Partner Program

Storage virtualization vendor Tintri has announced a new global channel partner program with several features to help partners grow their businesses, including new partner benefits and tools. The storage virtualization company also released a free mobile app for Apple's (AAPL) iOS to help partners sell the company’s solutions directly from their tablet or smartphones.

The new program unifies Tintri’s existing regional partner programs under a single banner and was designed to both help partners maximize their profitability and meet worldwide demand for its products, said senior director of channel marketing Derek Dal Ponte. The new program features the traditional three-tiered partnership model (Platinum, Gold and Silver) and a partner advisory council to gauge the opinions of Tintri’s resellers and to understand their customers.

“What we’re finding out is that there is a very cult-like following for our products from our customer base growing at a very fast clip,” said Dal Ponte in an interview with The VAR Guy. “That growth is happening through partners, and we want to share best practices in the partner community and continue to step on the gas pedal.”

The new partner program app gives resellers access to all of Tintri’s sales tools and enables them to register deals from their mobile device, in the hopes of making it easier to close deals. Additionally, Tintri has added a sales professional certification to its existing systems engineer certification program, a mandatory online program to train partners and recognize their expertise, Dal Ponte said.

“We are not chasing every partner out there,” he noted. “We are very focused on a core set of partners that make a meaningful investment [and] truly take the time to understand our differentiation … that are interested in helping us change the world.”

As the program matures, Tintri plans on expanding it while staying focused on the channel as a go-to market-strategy, which includes pouring more resources into its app development capabilities.

“We are absolutely committed to the channel, and all of the effort and focus for us is to drive our business through the channel,” said Dal Ponte. “Our core graphing point is going to market to and through partners.”