Acronis Named to CRN’s 2013 5-Star Partner Program Guide

5-Star designation in annual guide identifies the IT channel's most elite vendor partner programs

Woburn, MA, March 25, 2013 - Acronis today announced it has been named to CRN's 2013 Partner Program Guide, and awarded a 5-Star Partner rating. The CRN Partner Program Guide is the definitive listing of manufacturers and software publishers that service solution providers or provide products to the IT Channel. The guide recognizes those vendors who have channel programs and derive a portion of their sales through the indirect IT Channel. The 5-Star Partner Program rating recognizes an elite subset of Partner Program Guide vendors who give solution providers the best partnering elements in their channel programs.

The Acronis Global Partner Program is a progression-based program based on two key pillars: Revenue and Product Certification. In the last 12 months, Acronis has added nearly 1000 new partners to its program in the US, and now has approximately 100 partners achieving Platinum, Gold or Silver status. Dependent on status, partners can enjoy an increasing list of benefits from no-cost evaluation units, support and training to MDF and joint business plans and marketing campaigns.

"We have seen the Acronis partner program continue to improve, and so has our mutual business," said Caroline Hinton, vice president product management, software at Insight. "With enhanced training programs, margin incentives and continued extensions of the solutions and platform, the Acronis products are relevant to more clients and more pertinent to our portfolio."

"We have concentrated on expanding our reach into the virtualization market, aggressively recruiting VMware partners to our program," commented Kim Stevens, director of channels for Acronis Americas. "Acronis has also provided partners with a broader sales opportunity, by adding a new portfolio of solutions to manage data everywhere it may be used, from desktop to tablet and smartphone. We have significantly expanded our relevance to protection of data on mobile devices, and many of our partners have also increased sales based on this new opportunity. "

"The companies listed in CRN's 2013 Partner Program Guide represent a comprehensive list of the best channel programs in the market today," said Kelley Damore, senior vice president and editorial director, for UBM Tech Channel's CRN. "The 5-star award is reserved for vendors that understand that a successful partnership does not rely solely on the technology. By offering their partners tools, education and regular updates, vendors on this list go above and beyond traditional support to ensure a mutually beneficial partnership."

Acronis currently has almost 30,000 registered partners worldwide, representing the Americas, EMEA and APAC, an increase of nearly 5,000 since the re-launch of the Partner Program in 2011.

The list methodology is based on objective criteria that takes into account each vendor's investments in program offerings, partner profitability, partner training, education and support, marketing programs and resources, sales support and communication. Vendors are assessed using information provided in their completed applications.

The 2013 Partner Program Guide will be featured on CRN.com and the 5-Star Partners listing will be highlighted in the March 2013 issue of CRN.