Actifio Unveils Partner Programs, MSP Opportunity

Data management appliances developer Actifio has announced it will roll out new partner programs geared toward supporting partners and helping MSPs to bridge the gap between partners and its cloud delivery services.

Waltham, Mass.-based Actifio, which specializes in data management appliances that backup, archive and replicate data using a minimal number of copies, does more than 85 percent of its business through the channel, said Mike McClurg, vice president and channel chief of Actifio.

Actifio enhanced its channel focus with its newest programs, Special Forces Program and Partner Professional Services Program. According to McClurg, the Partner Professional Services Program will allow partners to access online training and become authorized providers of services including its Quickstart service, SOW-based service deployment and OnSite residency. The Special Forces Program will structure a close relationship between its field organization and partners by providing best-in-class tools, training and field support.

"Our ability to offer new Professional Services and Special Forces programs to our partners is a testament to the incredible momentum we're seeing in each of our regions." said McClurg "Partners who are selling the value of Actifio and Copy Data Storage now can deliver a wide variety of value-added services inclusive of installation, implementation and consulting to help their clients maximize their investments in our platform."

The Special Forces Program will provide sales executives with four to six business partner individuals to map accounts, talk about opportunities and develop territory strategies. The technical teams will have two to four individuals to help deliver more technical awareness, presentations and product demonstrations, said McClurg.

Michael Piltoff, senior vice president of strategic marketing of Boca Raton, Florida-based Champions Solutions Group has been working with Actifio for a little over a year now and looks forward to continuing their partnership.

"We understand Actifio is committed to the channel. We jumped in with both feet and they've held up to the end of the bargain," said Piltoff. "They are a first class organization to work with from a skill set stand point, are committed to the channel and have given us great support, training, marketing and assistance."

As information, security data and storage skyrockets, Bill Nemisi, senior vice president of sales for Tallahassee-based Mainline, an Actifio partner, believes that the new partner programs will help benefit his company and its customers.

"The explosion of information, video, security data and storage is taking off, which pressures companies to do it more effectively," said Nemisi. "Mainline benefits [from Special Forces] by being able to grow a relationship with customers to fulfill their storage requirements and be a higher trusted adviser in implementing a better storage environment."

NEXT: Actifio Channel Road Map Looks To Meet MSPs' Needs

For the rest of 2013, the company's channel road map will include working closely with MSPs and channel partners and utilizing its new channel programs to continue bridging the connections between partners and cloud delivery vehicles, said Actifio's McClurg.

"Our client's expectations about adopting new solutions are changing; enterprise technology now needs to be both radically simple and incredibly agile," said McClurg. "We recognized this trend early and are enabling our channel partners to work together with Actifio's Service Provider ecosystem to come together to deliver hybrid cloud copy data management services."

According to Andrew Gilman, senior director of global marketing at Actifio, MSPs and large enterprises are two main focuses for the company.

"For better or for worse, cloud and MSPs haven't spent a lot of investment in engaging, enabling and creating a partner ecosystem and that's where Actifio steps in," said Gilman. "There is technology being delivered from both sides of the equation, where the VARs can bring the trusted advisor relationships to provide solutions and MSPs can take advantage of Actifio's relationship with our channel partners."

McClurg said the importance of the channel for Actifio is reaching the next level. The company, which was founded in 2009 and scored $50 million in venture capital funding earlier this year, has talked openly about its desire to go public and become a major player in the storage market.

"For a 4-year-old company, you can tell this company is built by veterans in the storage industry" said McClurg, "and we're ready to close out the strong year."

PUBLISHED JULY 24, 2013