 | In two years, the program has grown to include 15,000 worldwide members and many new avenues to speed your development and help you sell. We talked with Scott Harrison, Global Director, Partner Programs Organization, to get the latest on the Intel Software Partner Program.
Intel launched the Intel® Software Partner Program in October 2006 in response to ISV demand for assistance so they could more fully innovate with the latest Intel technologies. Since its launch, the program has expanded dramatically to provide more value, more opportunities, and more resources to ISV development and sales efforts. Today there are 15,000 members in more than 100 countries. This year we remodeled our website for easier use, provided more development tools for the latest Intel technologies, launched the Intel® Business Exchange, and more. Next year, there are even more innovations coming to more regions around the world. We encourage you to get involved! Designed with software companies in mind It has been two years since Intel launched the Intel® Software Partner Program in October 2006. The idea came from independent software vendors (ISVs) who told us that they needed help staying abreast of Intel’s product plans, optimizing their software for the latest Intel technology, and marketing their Intel-enabled products in crowded markets. With better information and support, ISVs can bring more cutting-edge and inventive solutions to market by combining innovative software programming with the latest Intel technologies.
The Intel Software Partner Program has grown tremendously both in its global reach and in the resources available to members. Our first year was a period of launch and ramp, introducing the program in North America, expanding geographically, and building awareness as the partner program that ISVs would want to join. By the end of 2007, we had ramped membership to approximately 10,000 companies. Continuing To Grow in 2008 | | “We continue to see tremendous excitement from our members and look forward to building on that excitement in 2009 with a host of new offerings.”
- Scott Harrison, Global Director, Partner Programs Organization | | |
2008 has been a year of enhancing the value that we bring to members by making it easier for you to engage in the program and also increasing sales and marketing opportunities. “We continue to evolve the program by offering new opportunities for enabling as well as reassessing the benefits portfolio that we offer to our members,” says Scott Harrison, Global Director, Partner Programs Organization. “The program has remained nimble and responsive to Intel product changes and to ISV demands. During 2008 we also took the time to get feedback from our members on what is or is not working in the program and continue to make enhancements to the program based on this feedback. In fact, many of the innovations we introduced in 2008 came from emails and talks with ISVs. We want this to be your program that meets your needs.”
Here’s a recap of the key program enhancements that we introduced in 2008: - New technologies. As Intel released new technologies in the areas of virtualization, visual computing, and mobile Internet devices (MIDs), the Intel Software Partner Program was quick to provide members with the technology roadmaps and development tools necessary to take advantage of these technologies. “Intel’s technology expansion drives opportunities for our ISVs,” Harrison adds. “The Intel Software Partner Program will stay current with Intel technology releases so you can take advantage of these technologies. We share our plans freely with you, because we can’t be successful unless you are.”
- New geographies. Intel wants the Intel Software Partner Program to be accessible by any ISV, anywhere in the world. “Poland, Argentina, Brazil, and other countries have vibrant software ecosystems, and the ISVs there have fantastic ideas,” Harrison says. “I’ve been really inspired by their level of innovation and technical sophistication. We have a responsibility to help these young companies grow their businesses. You’ll continue to see further expansions of the program into new markets and further work in existing markets to grow the business.”
- Remodeled Website. Based on member feedback, Intel took steps to remodel the Intel Software Partner Program website to make it easier for members to navigate the site, access program resources, and manage their development projects.
- Market & Sell Portal. We also expanded the marketing and sales resources on the site to help your go-to-market efforts. This portal includes market planning tools, a collateral builder tool, a sales campaign wizard, access to the Intel® Business Exchange and Intel® Certified Solutions Program, and more.
- Development system rebates. We know how important it is to have the latest Intel technology-based systems for development, so we enhanced our development system rebates to make it easier to purchase the latest client and server systems.
- Intel® Business Exchange. This online marketplace for small and midsize businesses gives members of the Intel Software Partner Program an opportunity to expand your market reach and grow your sales.
- Intel® Certified Solutions Program. Intel launched the Intel Certified Solutions Program to help you demonstrate the quality, security, and performance of your applications to customers.
What’s Next We will continue to evaluate our program offerings to ensure that we have the right mix of tools to enhance your ability to quickly and efficiently enable your software for Intel technologies. We will also continue to expand the program into emerging markets and find innovative ways to provide value to members and help them be successful in 2009 and beyond.
“In 2009 we’ll continue to bring new benefits to the program and make sure we’re delivering excellent sales and marketing support,” Harrison says. “We have plans to continue to expand the Intel Business Exchange, and we’ll also continue to expand opportunities for ISVs to enable on new Intel technologies. As Intel introduces new platforms, we’ll be right there with software development tools to help you take full advantage of them.” Plug Into the Program! If you haven’t yet started taking advantage of the Intel Software Partner Program, get involved today. If you’ve already launched some enablement projects, add other products. If you have ideas for ways we can better serve you, contact us. It’s your program. Make it work for you.
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