Motion Wants To Spread The Ink

Motion's efforts can be seen in the new Partnership Program it unveiled earlier this month. Launched with seven Gold-level charter partners, the three-tier program is available to all independent hardware and software vendors developing products for ink-enabled uses.

"It costs nothing to join the program, and everyone gets a discount on our hardware," said Debbie Crosek, director of segment marketing at the Austin, Texas-based company.

"We'll help vendors develop ink-enabled functions in their applications. We feel that the more ink there is in an application, the easier it is for the customer."

To help spread the ink, Motion has created a three-tier program intended to make it easy and lucrative to support its products. Basic, or Silver-level, membership includes a discount on five not-for-resale Tablet PCs; access to Motion's systems engineers for development and technical support; demonstrations of products by Motion's sales force; and joint public relations and marketing events.

"To join, ISVs and IHVs [independent hardware vendors] just fill out a form saying they want to add ink to their products," said Crosek.

Gold membership receives priority technical support, a dedicated sales assistant, five Tablet PC loaners on which developers can build pilot systems, and invitations to demonstrate their products at Motion's show booths.

"For Gold level, we ask that vendors be in the top 15 [percent] market share for their industry," Crosek said. "When they show their application, they have to say it was developed on the Motion tablet."

Gold members will also receive $2,000 for each ad they place in trade publications, with a cap of $6,000 for the year.

"They've really covered every base, from marketing to the sales channel to the technical support," said Barrett Joyner, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Mi-Co, a developer of ink-enabled forms software based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Motion has provided a support infrastructure to people who want to get their software on tablets."

Platinum membership is open to vendors with $100 million in annual revenue that are deploying ink-enabled applications. "In this status, all of the benefits of the program will be negotiated on an individual basis," Crosek said. "There we will negotiate more hardware, more development support and more marketing dollars."

Motion's partner program currently has no Platinum-level partners.