by Steve Elgan, CTA, Omaha CUGC Leader, CUGC Steering Committee
You may have read about the changes Citrix has made which will impact how customers purchase products and get support. I’m not going into detail on that in this blog. My understanding is that only named enterprise accounts will work with Citrix directly. All other customers will need to choose a Citrix partner with whom to work. I want to focus on some suggestions for finding and selecting a Citrix channel partner.
As IT Director, I’m responsible for all IT procurement and vendor relationship management. I have worked with many partners for many products. You may be in a situation where you must work with a Citrix partner for the first time. It can be overwhelming as there are so many to choose from. Below is my preferred approach:
- Start Locally
Look for partners with a local presence if possible.
- Look for Integrity
Look for partners with integrity who don’t use pushy or dishonest sales tactics or try to buy your business with a fancy lunch.
- Technical Competence
Choose partners with technical competence, and make sure their brightest technical people are involved in your initial meetings.
- Community Involvement
Look for partners who are involved in the myCUGC community. Sales Engineers or other technical staff involved in the community are usually the best. Additionally, partners who have CTPs or CTAs on staff means they take community contributions and information sharing seriously.
- Relationship Building
Choose partners who want to develop long-term relationships based on trust and mutual respect, and who retain their staff.
- Hassle Factor
Look for partners who make it easy to do business with them, especially during the renewal and price negotiation processes.
These suggestions are a great starting place for evaluating a partner. If you have other good ideas, I invite you to comment on this blog so that other readers can benefit.
