Sun Reaps Rewards Of Reinvigorated 2004 Channel Partner Program

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (sun.com) today announced that in fiscal year 2004, which ended June 30, 2004, investments in the iForce(sm) Partner Program resulted in a year-over-year revenue percentage increase generated through its U.S. partner and reseller channels.

"The success we have shared with our partners this year recognizes Sun's commitment to delivering customer value through breakthrough network computing solutions that address critical business needs," said Greg Stroud, vice president, iForce Partner Sales at Sun Microsystems.

This amounts to over 50 percent of Sun's U.S. revenue and directly reflects market interest in Sun's new product and services lineup, including its recent introduction of the Solaris 10 Operating System, and commitment to expanding and strengthening its partner programs.

"The strength of Sun's product portfolio, which includes a refreshed server line-up and the new Solaris 10, and its commitment to the success of its partners are to be applauded," said Rich Severa, president, MOCA."

In addition, over calendar year 2004, Sun's iForce program saw growth with new partners such as Information Builders, Structured, Atempo and Back Bay Technologies and expanded many of its existing iForce relationships. Sun Partner Connect, a program targeted at Independent Software Vendors (ISV's), similarly increased the number of pre-qualified participants.

Sun's iForce Program, which now has over 700 members, benefited from its key program investments in 2004. Highlights include the Putting Partners First (PPF) Framework, a comprehensive set of programs developed to assist partners with deal protection and healthy margin maintenance.

Sun also opened an iForce Solutions Center for Government in Washington, D.C., a real-world environment that government and commercial customers can leverage to more quickly, securely and reliably define and solve integration challenges and promote interoperability across multi-vendor solutions.