Tarmin Formalizes Storage Management Channel Partner Program

Storage optimization vendor Tarmin is turning to the channel in an official capacity with the launch of a formal channel partner program the company has dubbed the Tarmin OverDrive Partner Program.

Tarmin, which is known for its GridBank storage management and risk control solutions for the likes of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) SharePoint, Exchange and a cloud version, isn’t exactly new to the channel, but after building up its business through direct and partially through channel sales, the company is ready to focus on the channel reseller model with its new partner program.

Now into version 3.0 of its GridBank solutions, Tarmin is busy recruiting partners to help grow its business while also looking for opportunities for its channel partners. In an interview with Talkin’ Cloud, CEO Shahbaz Ali noted solution providers are challenged with reducing internal operational expenditures and maximizing revenues, and that’s where GridBank can come in.

Joseph Lynn, Tarmin’s vice president of marketing, promised significant incremental sales opportunities for the channel, noting the company’s licensing model is based on a per-terabyte system and enables the solution to grow with customers. That sounds like the traditional marketing focus of cloud companies, so Tarmin looks to be getting it correct from the start.

Of course, in the technology realm, Tarmin is stuck in the middle. GridBank is hardware-agnostic middleware software, but exactly what the average channel provider will look like is still a bit of an unknown. At the moment, the company is growing and still figuring out how to present its resources to build out the channel and make some good connections through indirect sales.

During the first year of its channel partner program, Tarmin’s approach will be to expand through a network of contacts and find channel partners interested in working with Tarmin and its software. In year two, Ali hopes to have more resources available to stretch that further into different areas of the channel and expand more.

“We see ourselves in this new niche of Big Data middleware as we focus on the cost and risk of data and the opportunity of data,” Lynn said.