Computer Reseller News (12/23/96) ...Novell to turn to channel in '97 with new initiatives
By Stuart Glascock
Orem, Utah -- In a move to strengthen ties with resellers, Novell Inc. has named a new director of reseller sales and development and unveiled a series of channel initiatives for 1997.
Nancy Reynolds, formerly sales manager of distribution for North America, was named director of reseller development and marketing, replacing Phil Williams, who now reports to Novell President Joseph Marengi, company executives said.
The management and strategy shifts are part of a long-term effort to bolster relationships with channel partners, said Ron Heinz, Novell's senior vice president of sales for the Americas.
"We have always relied very heavily on the channel in our partnerships and our programs for us to be successful and for our channel partners to be successful," Heinz said. "We just want to continue that theme of being a very easy company to do business with and being an aggressive company in assisting our channel partners," he said.
Novell enters the new year at a crossroads. A search still is on to replace former chairman and chief executive Robert Frankenberg, who resigned last August. Marengi, who was named Novell president in August, has a broad background in channel sales and marketing.
Resellers will notice one change the company made in the latter half of 1996 in its distribution model. Novell reduced the amount of its inventory in the channel by about $250 million, said Mark Taylor, director of channel sales.
That allowed Novell to create new business opportunities and breathed new life into distribution relationships, said Taylor, who has held the top channel post for about a year.
"At the same time, we really focused on licensing as a method of delivering product into the channel," Taylor said.
In another new campaign, Novell this month launched a National Service Partner Program to promote its partners in the service and consulting industry by providing them with technical tools and marketing assistance.
The program underscores a commitment to helping business partners whose businesses now include less reselling of shrink-wrapped products and more consulting, Novell said.
Education and training also are top reseller initiatives for next year, said Reynolds, who will oversee a marketing program code-named Project Phoenix.
Among other things, Project Phoenix will provide the reseller channel with sales tools and technical workshops about Novell products.
Examples include Novell's scholarship program and its PowerSell courseware.
"It's quite an initiative, but when it is successful, it will cover all the requests that resellers have been asking for, such as better training," Reynolds said. "We are really going after focusing on their customers' business needs."
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This is a very good start! Finally it appears that Novell and our management is getting the message. Does anybody know Ms Nancy Reynolds prior experience other than formerly sales manager of distribution for North America. This is a key position and I am sure Ms Reynolds can do a good job but it will help to know her 'bio' as part of our overall team. Perhaps she has some ties with other tele-com companies like Cisco or 3COM.
This too is very good...
....."In another new campaign, Novell this month launched a National Service Partner Program to promote its partners in the service and consulting industry by providing them with technical tools and marketing assistance. The program underscores a commitment to helping business partners whose businesses now include less reselling of shrink-wrapped products and more consulting, Novell said."
I would like to see Novell take an even more aggressive approach to providing consulting services. I guess step one is to develop your "Service Partner Program" and line up all the qualified partners around the world. Novell then needs to integrate this into a World Wide Program and centralize these activities including tech support, billing and administration, hardware and software procurment into a separate profit center. Service Partner Agreements should be obtained where Novell obtains a fee for each hour billed and percentage of revenue for each hardware and software sale obtained.
The key is to make just a little on a whole lot of sales.
Hey 1997 is already looking good as long as Novell can implement this strategy.
Now the real kicker could come in if a leading hardware vendor like Cisco or 3Com participate with us through a stock buy-in, joint venture, or even merger????
EKS
Happy Holidays and may the New Year be profitable to Novell and the shareholders <G>!!! |
