Linksys recently announced the restructuring and intended rollout of the Linksys Partner Connection (LPC) program. The LPC program has been designed to add technology specialisation choices for partners who want to benefit from becoming educated and technically proficient in specific small business solution categories. Additionally, Linksys and Cisco also announced they will align partner programs and initiatives to drive growth and increase efficiencies for channel partners in the small and medium business (SMB) market.
The program improvements will include a tiering structure (Registered and Business Elite Partner) for specialisation in foundation technologies (routing, switching and wireless), storage, voice solutions and Linksys One. New benefits for the LPC program were also developed to reward partners for investing in pre-sales and post-sales resources, technical expertise and ongoing service capabilities to help drive increased partner profitability for selling platform solutions and managed services.
“The improved LPC program is a two-tiered partner program that rewards partners for their pre- and post-sales capabilities, ongoing service capabilities as well as their investment in Linksys technical capabilities,” says Nigel Williams, Linksys vice president of the worldwide channels organisation.
“Linksys Connected Office portfolio of products and solutions offer market relevant features focused on flexibility and simplicity in deployment and use, allowing partners to address the cost-sensitive and ease-of-use needs of today’s small business customer.”
The goal of the value-based program is to align with Cisco’s worldwide partner program. Linksys and Cisco registered channel partners will be combined into one common community to take advantage of both Cisco and Linksys unrestricted products. Linksys will also take advantage of Cisco’s distribution capabilities to enhance its global reach and enable distribution partners to build SMB initiatives across the brands. Finally, Linksys and Cisco will link the Cisco Certified Partner designations with Linksys Business Elite Partner status in the coming months.
“Combined Cisco and Linksys offer the largest portfolio of products and services for the SMB market. By working together to address the diverse small business market we can provide incremental value and profitability to the channel partners that cater to this segment,” says Keith Goodwin, senior vice president, worldwide channels at Cisco.