Recently BlackBerry adjusted its BlackBerry Partner Support Services (BPSS) program to enable channel partners to price programs more efficiently and have more consistent margins.
With that BlackBerry is freeing up more technical support representatives for channel partners.
In the past BlackBerry only gave solution providers one option when it came to service and support and that was to charge them for each and every incident.
Gregg Ostrowski, senior director of enterprise developer and technical partnerships, at BlackBerry, told CDN that if partners called the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone vendor they would be charged per ticket. However, this approach needed to change because a cookie-cutter plan no longer could meet the needs of partners who maintained the same level of service and support for customers.
Today BlackBerry gives these partners a service and support package that can escalate to BlackBerry help desk and is something they can resell to customers.
Ostrowski added that BlackBerry will also provide advanced services and support in a Tier 3 category. “When partners get into a real jam they will get access to senior BlackBerry technical staff where they will get an account manager. This is really a new approach that addresses what partners are asking for,” he said.
Reselling margins on BPSS will depend on what the partner ops for but typically Tier 3 level will be charged monthly and margins can be made on a re-occurring basis, Ostrowski said.
Ostrowski went on to say that the more successful partners are leveraging these services to help customer migrate from older platforms. Ostrowski said that BlackBerry is offering its BlackBerry Enterprise Server plus CALs (Client Access License) in a one-stop-shop approach, which enables partners to build a business by performing services.
In terms of partner discounts, they will be going to those solution providers who get certified.
“We want the partners to get ramped up and a partner who is certified will have reps that can support BlackBerry. This will reduce costs for them and for the customer and provide a better level of service. Please keep in mind that we are investing in a partner to help them build a profitable business,” Ostrowski said.
Also be getting certified BlackBerry will reimburse the Tier 2 access fee charged to all partners on BPSS. Ostrowski also believes these new offerings will increase response times. “By having direct access to the senior reps the partners get to talk to same person and that person knows your issues well and with that they get a better response time because it’s not a vanilla product.”
Solution providers can register for BPSS at partners.blackberry.com.