Symantec whips partners into shape

Symantec is nursing its channel with the introduction of a Survive and Thrive Business Management Series.

The online education program consist of five webcasts and 12 learning modules, all aimed at equipping channel partners with new skills to ride out the current economic downturn.

Issues to be addressed include maximising cashflow, defining opportunities to transition from being a product seller to a service provider and defining the economics of client acquisition and client retention.

Symantec channel director, David Dzienciol, said in the last 12 months, customers had continued to focus on different aspects of their core business. The goal of this training course is to increase partners’ business knowledge rather than concentrating solely on products.

“They are essentially becoming involved with end-user customers,” he said. “This is an opportunity to not talk about products or technology, but understand how partners can add value to their customer base.”

Dzienciol saw this as an chance for Symantec partners to be better educated in business challenges to align themselves more with end-user concerns.

Survive and Thrive is delivered by experts at ChannelCorp and will run over 24 weeks until November. It is available free of charge to the vendor’s partners.