As part of its wider restructuring of its relationship with the UK channel SMART Technologies has announced plans to deal direct with reseller and integrator partners for the first time. This new ;go to market’ strategy is designed to help UK schools and businesses to access collaboration tools, with demand for interactive flat panels throughout schools increasing by 37% in 2016.
Neil Gaydon, president and CEO, SMART Technologies: “Our new partner strategy revolutionises our approach to sales throughout the UK.”
SMART will now work with channel partners directly to bring the power of collaboration and enable contribution in both education and enterprise markets. The company is offering account management and marketing services to each individual partner.
SMART partners and customers will be given unfettered access to SMART solutions and experts, as well as the tools and support they need to succeed. Customers will now have greater choice across SMART’s entire portfolio of software and hardware collaboration solutions, offering higher quality service and support.
Market demand for SMART products and software solutions continue to rise. Recent figures by Futuresource indicate that there are 46 million meeting rooms globally. Interactive displays are commonplace throughout classrooms, and the new partner programme will enable SMART to focus on supplying simple, collaboration solutions to both education and enterprise environments.
“Our new partner strategy revolutionises our approach to sales throughout the UK,” said Neil Gaydon, president and CEO, SMART Technologies. “Our new accredited partner scheme will give customers from the education and enterprise sectors the benefit from our combination of software and hardware for collaboration and contribution. We’re seeing high demand for interactive flat panels throughout the UK education sector, with a 37% increase in 2016. Our whiteboards, interactive displays and software help educators and businesses who believe in the power of collaboration.”
SMART’s full product suite will now be available to a host of partners, supported by major new investment from SMART. “We are excited that SMART has recognised the need to reward proactive and loyal resellers with the correct level of margin for demonstrating the power of SMART’s innovative solutions directly in the education market,” said Chris Deeley, Managing Director, Elementary Technology.
Through access to a new dedicated SMART partner portal, gold and silver partners can benefit from a managed service model, providing an increased level of support to match each customer’s individual needs. Using specialist resellers across industries, customers can access SMART licensed paid software and products from the SMART learning, kapp and notebook range, as well as the full interactive flat panel suite such as the 4K ultra HD resolution SMART Board 6000 series.
