After recapping 2015 partner program highlights last week, Juniper Networks Channel Chief Matt Hurley today unveiled four partner program enhancements. They include a data center specialization; a solutions specialist design track; new corporate marketing concierge programs and more partner learning academy courses.
Hurley, corporate VP for worldwide partner and field marketing, revealed the updates in a Juniper corporate blog. The updates come as Juniper rallies partners and customers at IDEAS/Connected 2016 -- an executive leadership gathering this week in Miami, Fla.
Juniper Partner Program Enhancements
The four new Juniper partner program enhancements include:
1. Juniper Data Center Specialization: This appears to be a close cousin to Juniper's existing cloud specialization. Together, the two specializations "will help partners grow their businesses with Juniper Networks' private, public and hybrid cloud offerings," Hurley wrote.
2. Solutions Specialist Design Track: "Our goal is to improve program alignment with systems engineer roles and job functions, streamlining program training paths by balancing technical skills, presales and solution design, and offering more choice in program curriculum," wrote Hurley. "It will allow our partners to optimize training investments and it will be more relevant for engineers in the field."
3. New Marketing Concierge Programs: New Juniper Marketing Concierge (JMC) enhancements will allow partners to more easily build marketing campaigns. "We plan to introduce new lead generation features such as social selling on the Social Media Center, more dynamic web content syndication via SharedVue, and just-in-time sales content to help your sellers impact the early stage of the buying cycle," he wrote.
4. Partner Learning Academy Courses: The company last year added 44 new courses in the Partner Learning Academy. This year, watch for more courses that align with Juniper sales training, while offering sales certifications to our partners.
Juniper: Getting Back on Message
The partner program enhancements come as Juniper attempts to move the spotlight back to its partner momentum and away from security backdoor concerns that emerged in December 2015. The company is expected to announce its most recent quarterly financial results on January 27, 2016.