Fujitsu today marks five successful years of its global channel program, the SELECT Partner Program, with a thorough redesign to meet the evolving needs of its channel partners around the world and to support the company’s targets for profitable growth. Taking changing market dynamics into account and based on a close collaboration with its channel partners, Fujitsu is updating the structure, training offering, and benefits of the SELECT Partner Program.

Already launched in EMEIA, Asia, Oceania and North America, the SELECT Partner Program will soon roll out to South America. Mirroring early successes in EMEIA, the company aims to achieve 80 percent of product revenue through the channel on global basis.

According to Veerle Limbos, Vice President, Global Channel Business, Fujitsu: “The Fujitsu SELECT Partner Program is one of the most sophisticated channel partner programs in the industry, as it consistently delivers value based on three key cornerstones: reliable innovation, individual support and commitment to growth. Our new and improved SELECT Partner program is at the core of Fujitsu’s strategy to help channel partners grow their business through a closer relationship with the company, by providing exclusive access to people, resources and training. Mutual growth through the channel is a strategic priority for Fujitsu.”

Two ways of engaging with Fujitsu: SELECT Registered and SELECT Expert Partners
Already numbering more than 16,200 members worldwide, the SELECT Partner Program now offers two levels of partnership: SELECT Registered and SELECT Expert. Often reflecting the stage of an early relationship and investment in building knowledge about Fujitsu offerings, SELECT Registered Partners sell Fujitsu standard products, such as LIFEBOOK and STYLISTIC client computing devices, PRIMERGY servers, and ETERNUS storage systems. Their relationship with Fujitsu is a basic one, facilitated though Fujitsu distributors. These partners nevertheless already have access to the Fujitsu Channel Partner portal, a comprehensive channel tool-kit supporting sales, as well as presales-related information.

By certifying, Fujitsu channel partners can acquire a number of SELECT Expert specializations1 to achieve added benefits. Fujitsu channel partners may focus on any of the new Expert specializations that range from Mobility Solutions, up to Advanced Server Solutions, or Data Protection. These specializations enable channel partners to differentiate themselves and act as a true trusted advisor to their customers. All SELECT Expert specializations have been reclassified to be more customer centric, and are designed to provide partners with the knowledge, resources and tools they need to best advise customers – based on an in-depth understanding of today’s IT challenges, such as Mobility, Security and Big Data and the most appropriate solutions to address them.

Unique end-to-end training for channel partners is the same as for Fujitsu internal workforce
Based on the new SELECT Expert specializations, Fujitsu has developed an enhanced training curriculum focused on Sales, PreSales and Installation courses for each topic. Offering a unique end-to-end training experience via its SELECT Academy, the company trains its channel partners as it does its own employees.

The Fujitsu training curriculum also recognizes third-party competencies that channel partners have already acquired from technology partners, such as VMWare or Microsoft and even competing vendors. This enables SELECT Registered Partners to fast track to their desired SELECT Expert status.

Individual benefits: The closer a partner works with Fujitsu, the greater the benefits it receives
Fujitsu puts no extra hurdles between channel partners and achieving the benefits of a certified SELECT Expert, such as intermediate levels, revenue thresholds, or strict guidelines. Fujitsu rewards its channel partners based on their knowledge, to assure the highest levels of quality, and aims to offer each partner a one-to-one approach through individual business planning. An enhanced bonus scheme is also being put in place. For example, signing an individual SELECT Target Agreement could increase the current SELECT Expert profitability by as much as 30 percent.