Internet Solutions (IS), has announced its new channel marketing initiative, named IS Value Channel Partner program (ISVCPP). The new program was launched Wednesday, and is specifically aimed at those partners whose expertise lies in selling products and services to SME businesses in South Africa (SA).
According to IS there are over one million small and medium businesses registered in SA, and, in order to show appreciable growth, they need to be able to communicate quickly and securely with clients and suppliers.
The company believes that partnerships are necessary to reach and service this fast-growing sector of the economy. “For effective penetration of this incredibly exciting market segment, IS’ highly successful corporate business model would be better supported by using channel partners, as opposed to expanding the IS corporate account management team. Channel partners will directly provide, amongst other key elements, the account management function. IS’ solution set, support infrastructure and administration infrastructure is well positioned to support this channel,” said Tony Walt, group sales director, IS.
“Small to medium enterprises need a lot of personal attention and relationships that bring value to them,” he said. “In addition, the broad array of services that our partners currently provide to the SME market can be effectively complemented by IS’ range of services. Our channel program will enable our VCPs to become more efficient while better serving their customers.”
Ermano Quartero, director of business solutions at IS, has designed an enhanced set of products specifically aimed at the SME market.
“We have developed our partner program based on input from solution and service providers. These experts intimately understand their clients’ needs and specialize in a specific aspect of enabling technology,” he said. “Partnering with IS through the VCP strengthens its value proposition and expands its potential client base. Together we can package additional products that enhance the shrink-wrapped initial offering and additional annuity revenue streams can be leveraged. In addition these partners have access to the expertise that IS has built up over the past ten years.”
The products in the new VCP program include hosted exchange with corporate mail and Outlook Web Access, dedicated and shared hosting solutions, firewalls. ISFax and AccessPlus — a 64/64k service that can be split to customer requirements.
To ensure that partners can communicate easily with IS, a dedicated service desk has been set up, and the call center will route any queries to the team of 75 support staff who are on duty 24×7. Access via a unique login to IS’ Customer Zone facility will ensure that a consolidated view of the partner clients is available at all times.
“This program allows us to target the SME market through a network of reliable, expert and dedicated partners who can attract additional business for themselves and bring real value and service to their customer base. We see them as vital to our growth,” Quartero said.
