Symbol Technologies has announced that more than 350 Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partners have joined its PartnerSelect ISV partner programme in less than 17 months. Symbol PartnerSelect ISV partners help complete an enterprise mobility solution with software applications for vertical markets including, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, travel and transportation, supply chain distribution, field services and government.
Since the PartnerSelect ISV partner programme launch in April 2005, U.S. and Americas International (Canada and Latin America), ISV partner membership increased from 20 to more than 200. ISV partner membership in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region grew rapidly to more than 100 since the launch of the regions program in November 2005. ISV partners in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region total nearly 50.
ISVs benefit Symbols PartnerSelect ecosystem by providing customers with the enterprise mobility applications necessary for a complete solution, said Sandy Preizler, Symbol Technologies vice president of worldwide channels. Symbol started the global ISV partner recruitment campaign last year, and today we are pleasantly surprised by the success of the program since signing more than 350 ISV partners with new enterprise mobility deployments.
In EMEA, the PartnerSelect ISV partner programme has seen uptake from ISV partners like Blackbay, a developer of real-time mobile worker solutions for supply chain and field service mission-critical operations, who recently collaborated with Symbol to provide a mobility solution to Parcelforce, a major international hub for sending express packages. Syclo, a Chicago-based ISV, developed the asset management application that runs on Symbols rugged mobile computers, for Tube Lines, a tube maintenance company that services the London Underground lines.
James Pemberton, ISV manager EMEA, Symbol Technologies, told IT Reseller: The ISV programme has successfully filled a much-needed gap between our PartnerSelect reseller community and the many innovative application providers who were not previously part of the Symbol partner ecosystem. In essence, the ISV track provides a way of bringing these two communities together under the Symbol umbrella. This benefits both groups and that is why it has proven a success.
Given the current success of the programme IT Reseller wanted to know what are the plans for extending it through 2007? Pemberton said: Whilst recruitment will continue, the programme will move into a more extensive engagement phase in 2007 by providing a range of marketing and business development activities to bring ISVs in touch with Symbols extensive reseller network throughout the EMEA region.
Larry Klimczyk, managing director, Blackbay had this to say about the programme: Blackbay chose to become a Symbol Premier ISV as the business benefits were very clear to me. The Symbol sales team competently presents our software and services to the market, and we get the credibility that comes with the leading enterprise mobile data company supporting our solutions. We also get a greater platform from which to speak with new customers and partners via a listing on the Symbol website and in their partner newsletter. Blackbay has also recently gained SymbolPlus certification, further boosting our customers confidence that we offer proven and tested solutions. In return, Blackbay helps both Symbol and their partners accelerate their sales by supporting their provision of a full solution, including software and support.
Dexterra, a provider of mobile business software also joined the PartnerSelect ISV partner programme. Symbols PartnerSelect ISV partner programme enables us to expand our business through joint marketing, demand generation and close collaboration with Symbol and the PartnerSelect community, said Phil Baker, Dexterras EMEA partner manager. Joining the ISV partner programmeas a Premier ISV Partnercomplements our strategy of building relationships with organizations that mutually benefit both parties, as well as new and existing customers, for whom we now develop more practical mobile solutions.
The Symbol PartnerSelect ISV partner programme enables ISVs to develop and deploy highly differentiated and competitive software applications for enterprise mobility customers; leverage Symbol's leadership, market presence and sales force reach; and expand the PartnerSelect ecosystem by connecting with other Symbol's channel partners to offer customers a complete enterprise mobility solution. In addition, the PartnerSelect ISV partner programme grants ISVs early access to products, allowing them to stay ahead of the market and plan for upcoming changes.
An additional service for Symbol PartnerSelect partners and customers is co-validating a solution at a Symbol Solutions Centre. In a lab environment, Symbol engineers work with partners and customers to test their software applications and solutions with Symbol products. To date, 33 PartnerSelect partners have co-validated their enterprise mobility solution. Symbol Solutions Centres are currently available to PartnerSelect members in Holtsville, N.Y., USA and Winnersh, UK.
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