ChannelAssist expands its business model with a Partner Program to build strategic alliances for its web based solutions that support channel centric, customer loyalty and employee recognition programs. “Our programs have such diversity, that we were being approached to supply our expertise and work with service organizations on behalf of their clients; so it only made sense to formalize a Partner Program”, according to Glenn Matheson, Director of Sales & Marketing at ChannelAssist. The program offers three levels of Partners and is open to System Integrators, ISVs, Managed Service Providers, Consultants, Custom Programming Developers, Marketing Agencies and Media Publishers. For more information to become a ChannelAssist Partner, visit our Partners page.

To maintain ongoing product development and provide value to our customers, Brian Deck, ChannelAssist CTO announced the release of ‘PRM Plus 3.1’ which offers more options and flexibility across virtually all areas of the system’s functionality. “The purpose of this release is to enhance the way in which the systems features, content and rewards are managed” according to Brian.

Key features available in release 3.1 include the ability to manage content such as resources, education, promotions and SKU incentive values across User Types and support “secondary” or “additional” group structures that allow customers to maintain a core Tier and the concept of additional Membership Groups or certifications which a Partner may be in the process of achieving. “This essentially allows for Partners to maintain the status in the Primary group and add additional entitlements over time", added Brian.

Recognized leader in mobile computing, Toshiba of Canada Limited, Digital Products Group (Toshiba) announced Toshiba Frontline, the online resource and incentive program for its valued channel partners. “We’re honoured to work with Toshiba again and that they selected PRM Plus from ChannelAssist to facilitate knowledge transfer with their resellers, gain top-of-mind awareness and ultimately expedite their partners’ sales cycle” stated ChannelAssist President, David Auld.

Toshiba Frontline provides a single user interface which offers training and education programs to support reseller sales representatives and keep them up to date on news, product information, promotions to ensure partners have the tools they need and the most current information to confidently present to their customers.

Partner Relationship Management (PRM) is emerging from the shadow of CRM, due in part from financial pressures brought by the recession, the availability of affordable SaaS offerings, and the boom in social networking technologies. In this article, David Auld, President of ChannelAssist and one of our clients are featured and describe how companies can increase partner loyalty while providing tools to help support channel sales. Having a central PRM platform simplifies the process and compiles metrics for measuring the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. To view the article, click here.

Since they first appeared on the scene, partner relationship management (PRM) solutions have gone through a significant evolution. For today’s vendors, it is a tool that can play a key role in improving sales, increasing margins and strengthening communications. The key to a successful PRM implementation is understanding what capabilities make the most sense for specific business needs. To view the article in its entirety, click here.

Brian Deck, CTO of ChannelAssist and a member of the ASAP Toronto Chapter Executive Board has been named Co-Chair of the ASAP IT Global Community. The IT Community is a global community of strategic alliance professionals in the IT and communications industry. Its mission is to provide a central forum for sharing, disseminating and discussing alliance management issues, concerns and best practices that are most relevant for those in the high-tech profession. For more information on ASAP visit www.strategic-alliances.org.

Leading auto manufacturer Nissan wanted to implement a means of rewarding customers that chose to take their off-warranty service work back to their local Nissan dealer where they had built a relationship. Recognizing that once a vehicle is no longer covered by a warranty and consumers often consider moving their service repairs to other firms based on perceived lower prices than dealers may offer; Nissan’s marketing agency asked ChannelAssist to create a program that rewarded loyal customers by distributing rebates via a special promotion for featured service. ChannelAssist developed an online portal for eligible consumers to learn more about the promotion and which would provide Nissan with additional consumer touch points to reinforce the loyalty program and communicate the value their dealers could offer to their customers.

D-Link, a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of advanced networking, broadband, digital, voice and data communications solutions awarded ChannelAssist the contract to develop and support a comprehensive Canadian Premier Partner Program with enhanced communication and data management structures. With ease of use, security, self-managed reporting and member type flexibility being key for D-Link, ChannelAssist’s PRM Plus platform combined with extensive channel experience and strong development capabilities made the solution a perfect fit. By partnering with ChannelAssist, D-Link can effectively offer additional benefits to resellers and their sales representatives through direct communication, ongoing initiatives and special promotions. ChannelAssist is excited to play a vital role in D-Link’s continued reseller support and market penetration strategy.

The HP Blue Carpet Program, powered by ChannelAssist’s PRM Plus Partner Relationship Management technology now enters its third year and continues to build and support its reseller ecosystem and provide unprecedented customer satisfaction within their VAR and System Integrator community. As the PRM Plus solution continues to evolve and incorporate enhanced capabilities and functionality, ChannelAssist is proud to be considered a valued partner of Hewlett-Packard.

ChannelAssist is committed to supporting the mission of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP), and has been recognized with the election of Glenn Matheson, David Auld and Brian Deck to the Executive Board of the Toronto Chapter.  “Since the Chapter’s inception in 2007, we saw the value that ASAP offered businesses like ours with its best practices resources and Chapter events and in turn, we’re pleased to contribute in helping the Toronto Chapter grow and prosper”, said ChannelAssist President, David Auld.

ChannelAssist continues to improve its Business Partner programs with the increasing number of reward choices available to customers and users. As the selection of name brand products are enhanced across categories such as Consumer Electronics, Home Furnishings, Travel Products, Investments, Jewellery, Outdoors, Sporting Goods, Appliances and Cash Cards, ChannelAssist customers have the ability to offer robust loyalty and incentive programs to reward and entice their customers with confidence in the quality and selection of the rewards available.

ChannelAssist is pleased to announce the addition of Glenn Matheson to the management team in the role of Director of Sales. Glenn brings over 20 years of sales, strategic alliances and project management experience including senior roles with consulting firms specializing in customized SFA/CRM and enterprise electronic document management solutions.

“As an extremely well-connected sales professional, Glenn’s addition is the next logical step in the evolution of our company.” said David Auld, ChannelAssist’s President. “With a mandate to introduce ChannelAssist’s suite of products to new accounts and industries, Glenn will be a significant contributor to our growth.”

ChannelAssist Inc and Advanced Alchemy Inc today announced a strategic alliance based on a shared vision and direction to bring solutions to market leveraging channel, alliance, demand generation and enablement management. Their complimentary services, expertise and client portfolios will allow both companies to drive new growth opportunities and has the potential to ultimately transform industry solutions for channel management and alliance partnerships.

ChannelAssist announces the expansion of its Reward Store offerings to include name brands such as Broil King, KitchenAid, Cuisinart, and Sanyo. With the addition of over 300 name brand products PRM Plus users will continue to have confidence in the quality and selection of the rewards available.

One year after launch, Hewlett-Packard’s Blue Carpet Program continues to receive rave reviews from HP product managers, corporate management and HP Channel Partners. With a shared mandate to maintain unprecedented mindshare, grow sales, and enhance the participant experience through the Blue Carpet Program, ChannelAssist is pleased to continue its support of Hewlett-Packard’s sales and marketing initiatives. Blue Carpet is powered by ChannelAssist’s PRM Plus 2.0 Partner Relationship Management software.

ChannelAssist President David Auld was pleased to accept his appointment to the ASAP Toronto Chapter Board of Directors in the role of Marketing Director. ASAP Toronto is the first Canadian chapter of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals, the world’s leading alliance-focused organization to help members identify, develop and manage successful strategic alliances. Joining David in the Marketing Committee is ChannelAssist CTO Brian Deck who brings decades of design and technical experience to the team mandated to promote and grow the organization.

ChannelAssist President David Auld left a full audience of ASAP (Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals) members wanting more when he shared his knowledge of PRM (Partner Relationship Management) last night. With senior representatives from Microsoft, IBM and Rogers in attendance he shared his perspective that “When your lifeblood is channel sales, channel relationships are everything.”

ChannelAssist partners with Dundee Securities to offer program participants investment options to offset their sales earnings. This exciting opportunity presents a unique twist on traditional reward programs by allowing participants to develop a plan for and select investments that are personally tailored to their investment needs today and in the future.

ChannelAssist is pleased to announce the addition of Christine Holmes to the management team in the role of Director of Business Development. Christine brings over 10 years experience designing, implementing and executing consumer and channel sales and marketing initiatives for organizations such as Hewlett-Packard, Kyocera Mita, Lexmark, 3Com, ATI, LG Electronics, Palm, and Tech Data.

Hewlett Packard (Canada) launches the 'HP Blue Carpet' Program for Authorized Reseller Partners in Canada. 'Blue Carpet' is the successor to 'Better Together' and is powered by PRM Plus© 2.0.

ProCurve Networking by HP upgrades the 'ProCurve Channel Champs' Program to PRM Plus© 2.0. 'ProCurve Channel Champs' is targeted at all Authorized ProCurve Partners in North America.

ChannelAssist Launches New Support Ticketing System. Today ChannelAssist announced an agreement with Liveperson to utilize their Liveperson Contact Center, an industry leading ticketing support system. ChannelAssist will implement Liveperson to support all current and future PRM Plus customers. "Our agreement with Liveperson will allow ChannelAssist to offer a superior level of customer service to our clients and PRM Plus membership." said Brian Deck, ChannelAssist's Chief Technology Officer.

ChannelAssist becomes an Authorized Distributor for American Express Incentive Services. Under the agreement ChannelAssist will offer the full range of AEIS Reward Cards via their PRM Plus 2.0 solutions. "American Express is the recognized leader in reward cards. By offering AEIS cards, we add an entire level of variety in the PRM Plus Rewards Stores for both the U.S. and Canada." said David Auld, President of ChannelAssist.

ChannelAssist Launches PRM Plus© 2.0. ChannelAssist today announced the launch of PRM Plus© 2.0 for the North American marketplace. Version 2.0, designed with Microsoft's .NET technology, features additional functionality over version 1.0 launched in 2005. As well, ChannelAssist now offers a user-based subscription plan ideal for smaller businesses. "PRM Plus© 2.0 responds to the increased demand for Partner Relationship Management solutions and is the natural evolution from our original system launched early last year." said David Auld, ChannelAssist's President. "Our customers count on us to provide leading edge channel solutions to effectively manage their partner relationships and version 2.0 confirms our commitment to this space." ChannelAssist is a customer-oriented channel management company dedicated to providing easy to use tools to drive revenue and customer loyalty. We help our clients transform their businesses through the use of leading-edge design and technology.

ProCurve Networking by HP launches the 'ProCurve Channel Champs' Program for all Authorized ProCurve Partners in North America. ProCurve Channel Champs rewards channel salespeople for learning about and selling ProCurve solutions to their customers.

ChannelAssist becomes a licenced vendor of Marriott Rewards through PRM Plus. "Marriott Travel Rewards are extremely popular in that they offer a flexible solution to our membership's travel needs." said ChannelAssist's President, David Auld. "Our agreement with Marriott Incentives adds a new dimension to our Reward Stores."

Hewlett Packard (Canada) launches the 'HP Better Together' Program for Authorized Reseller Partners in Canada. 'Better Together' rewards reseller salespeople for 'attaching' HP products in their sales to end users.