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A great week at Partner Engage EMEA

JasonEllis
Not applicable
Employee

What a great week at Partner Engage: a fantastic time to meet our partners from across the region at this second stand-alone edition of Partner Engage in EMEA! The two days were filled with even more discussions and interactions than last year, and I have also watched how great an opportunity it was for our partners to exchange views and experience, network with their peers and Symantec, and certainly initiate new business opportunities.  The feedback I have personally received from the partners I’ve heard from has been amazing.  Many of you seem truly excited about the new Symantec strategy and future direction.

Two years ago, we launched the enhanced Partner Program, and Specializations.  What a long way we have all come, I am really proud to see the commitment of our partners, the way they feel empowered with the different initiatives that we have launched: the Yellow Book, the Partner Sales Academies, appliance programs, a new Specialization…  The figures speak for themselves and are obviously a great metric for success, but that aside, the level of energy and enthusiasm is clearly a reward for us.  The success of our Specialists and Master Specialists must not go unmentioned, their number and growth continue to increase strongly, and their added value is fully recognized by our customers.

And now the journey to a new Symantec has started: another huge change which our partners at the event heard most about during their time in Lisbon.  We talked a lot about ‘Symantec 4.0’: I’m aware that this term does not resonate with all of you, but in essence it’s the new Symantec, the new strategy moving forward.  One in which our partners will play a central role. As our CEO Steve Bennett said “Our commitment to partners is not going to change; Symantec is more committed to partners than ever before”. 

Mobile, cloud, appliances, vertical needs… IT trends are evolving and there are many opportunities that we can expect in the months and years to come.  There were some fantastic break out sessions during the event that demonstrated how we intend to be key in these opportunities.  Also how we will focus on helping our partners to seize them by making them our shared priorities by accelerating deals and developing long term plans.  If you want to see any of the keynote or breakout session presentations these will be available shortly on PartnerNet but your Partner Account Manager can supply these to you in the meantime.

Ultimately, let’s not forget the fun part of Partner Engage EMEA: a rather ‘glitzy’ night held in one of the largest casinos in Europe. In the midst of some magic tricks we held our annual Channel Excellence Awards.  It’s an amazing achievement to be nominated for the awards, congratulations to all of you, and of course to the winners.  Please let me applaud them once again here as they stood out for their dedication and support:

  • Small Business Partner of the Year: Centro Computer spa (Italy)
  • Cloud Partner of the Year: bluesource (UK)
  • Enterprise Partner of the Year: Computacenter (Germany)
  • Marketing Award: PMCS (Germany)
  • Most Innovative Partner: Pentura Limited (UK)
  • President Award : Caperio (Sweden)
  • Symantec EMEA Value Added Distributor of the Year: Mindware Gulf UAE
  • Symantec EMEA SMB Distributor of the Year: Aptec (UAE)

As mentioned at Partner Engage, we want our partners to be able to help drive what the new Symantec looks like, we will be seeking your feedback and taking that onboard.  Look out for details of the Partner Insights Program in the coming months, which will be the mechanism we will use for a transparent partnership that will help drive the longer term plans and strengthen the relationship we have with our most invested partners.