This was the case for all sizes of companies, from large corporations with 10,000 or more employees to small businesses with less than 100 employees. These findings were somewhat surprising. We expected to find larger companies frequently engaging external resources to assist with the execution and management of partner marketing and operations initiatives.  We mistakenly anticipated that smaller companies would generally lack the funding needed to work with contractors and outsourcers. The survey data also indicated that when a need for additional personnel resources arose, most companies preferred to hire permanent headcount. However, when they were unable to get headcount approval, most considered engaging a contractor or outsourcer to be a viable alternative. This data was as expected. Most managers prefer to hire permanent headcount whenever possible. Having a team of permanent employees provides the manager with a stable base of resources from which to plan for and execute on initiatives. Leveraging external resources to deliver on committed program activities is much harder because the funding for those resources can easily be cut out of the quarterly budget, leaving the manager with few means of delivering on partner expectations. Read More.

BEA recently created two-year business plan to dramatically expand and strengthen its VAR channel in North America in order to better penetrate the mid-market. The plan called for a significant investment, and its end goal was to significantly expand customer coverage and incremental license revenues through and with value-added resellers in the lower enterprise and mid-market space. Because the stakes were so high, BEA had to be sure that their plan was comprehensive and accurate enough to deliver. Enter Amazon Consulting. Because of its expertise in building world-class partner organizations, BEA turned to Amazon Consulting to evaluate and validate its business plan. To read more click here.

Access the latest thought leadership in the Channel: eCommerce comes to Amazon Consulting

This week we will introduce the value-added whitepaper content and templates available for purchase on our website. This service will offer our clients the latest thought leadership available from throughout the industry as well as best practices gathered from hundreds of client engagements. We invite you to preview the following titles available for download:

• Principles and Key Elements of Effective Deal Registration Programs (part I)
• Five Tiers of Separation: A whitepaper on the flaws and benefits of multi-tiered channels and distribution.
• Best Practices Report: System Integrator Programs for the High Tech Industry (parts I, II and III): A best practices report highlighting the innovative practices and programs technology companies are leveraging across the industry to increase influence sales and customer satisfaction through SI partner relationships.
• Best Practices for Partner Business Planning (template): A tool to track your forecast metrics, create quarterly planning and business objectives using a professionally developed partnering template.

CLICK HERE to view all of the free and paid content available from Amazon Consulting.

We are proud to announce that we were ranked #3 on Silicon
Valley Business Journal's 2005 list of 50 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies!

During almost 8 years of working with clients on to grow and improve their partner programs we have enjoyed much success and are honored to have been recognized as one this years "Fast 50.&rdquo We owe our success to hard work, a great team and to our dedication to providing our clients with valuable, actionable consulting advice. We thank everyone who has supported us and look forward to expanding our products and services in 2006. Click here to read the press release.