A Strong Community Helps Partners Keep up Amid Rapid Change

Things change fast in the technology world, and we can all use a little help keeping up. That’s why APC by Schneider Electric has launched the EcoStruxure IT Community, an online forum exclusive to our channel partners. In this forum, partners can interact with both APC Partner Success Managers as well as other partners to help each other succeed by asking questions and sharing resources, best practices, and so on.

EcoStruxure IT for Partners is APC’s cloud-based data center infrastructure management (DCIM) platform. It provides complete visibility through a single pane of glass into distributed IT environments, giving partners the ability to monitor not just their customer’s centralized data centers, but remote edge locations and hybrid IT environments. It helps partners right-size power and cooling, identify security vulnerabilities and pinpoint opportunities to bring applications to the cloud, to name a few capabilities. Through the EcoStruxure IT Expert component, managed service providers can monitor and manage customer data centers and remote facilities on behalf of their customers–providing a valuable service while generating recurring revenue.

Asks Questions, Get answers, Build Community

While we’re excited about the potential of EcoStruxure IT, we recognize it’s a new type of offering for many partners, so they’re likely to have questions. That’s what the EcoStruxure IT Community is all about.

Through the forum, partners can ask questions about the capabilities of the EcoStruxure IT software. Don’t be afraid to get too technical, as we’ll have folks monitoring the discussion who can pull in our experts to answer questions and even supply a fix when necessary.

You can even learn about new product features from APC and from each other. If you’ve found a feature to be particularly useful, let other partners know. Or if you have a question about how a feature is supposed to work, just ask.

The EcoStruxure IT Community is also a great place to keep up to date on the product roadmap and get a first look at what’s coming down the pike. APC may also use the community to discuss business opportunities and promotions you’re eligible for.

EcoStruxure IT Community Features

The forum also has a few features intended to help make it more useful.

First is a search capability that enables visitors to quickly search through the knowledge base created by both APC by Schneider Electric partners and Partner Success Managers to determine whether an answer to a question already exists. If not, submit a new question. In addition to getting your questions answered, it’s a way to network with other professionals from around the country.

You can also start a conversation that’s intended to engage professionals in the community, enabling everyone to learn from each other’s ideas

Visit the Forum and Get the Ideas Flowing

Any online community is only effective, of course, if people contribute. We’ve seeded the community with a few resources, including information on what EcoStruxure IT is all about, how it can help your business evolve, and information on our offer of a personalized demonstration and free 30-day trial.

All that’s missing is your contribution. The forum is open to any partner at the select level or above with certifications in Edge Computing or, coming soon, APC’s Software & Digital Services certification. (Click here to learn how to take our partner program certification courses.)

Register for the EcoStruxure IT Community now, look around, and by all means, ask questions.

Larry Hann is the Director of Digital Services Programs for APC by Schneider Electric. He has been with APC for over 20 years and during this time he has supported North American business relationships as manager for Tier 2 OEM partners and then the Tier 1 IT Distribution team. Additionally, Larry has held various positions with APC’s Government Channel Partners, Strategic Partners and National Account businesses. He holds a BMSE in Material Engineering from Virginia Tech and a MSE in Materials Science and Engineering from Clemson University.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.