In a bid to increase its channel presence, Macromedia has unveiled a volume licensing program and struck a deal with EMJ Data Systems to beef up its Canadian distribution and reseller network.
The company also rolled out an authorized training partner program, which offers instructor-led training to Macromedia customers, and revamped its alliance partner program late last month.
The flurry of activity comes roughly six months after the San Francisco-based Web design software company, most famous for its Flash and Dreamweaver product lines, merged with Newton, Mass.-based Allaire Corp.
Stephane Le Sieur, Macromedia’s Canadian country manager and former Canadian territory manager for Allaire, said the recent moves give the company a real “Canadian flavour.”
The EMJ alliance, in particular, is aimed at getting more in touch with Canadian Apple buyers, Le Sieur says. “EMJ is a smaller, more personalized environment. They have their niche, which is the Apple market, and so it’s a great addition to the offering for our channel.”
Indeed, cultivating a distinct Canadian voice — separate from its American cousins — is high on the company’s agenda since the $360 million springtime merger, Le Sieur says.
“Prior to the merger,” he says, ” Canada was considered just another state. But after the merger in April we decided to make Canada a completely separate entity. So we no longer relate to the North American sales force, we relate to the international group, which is really good for our resellers.”
So what’s the skinny on some of the programs? The volume licensing program, for example, provides licensing solutions for corporate, small business, government and education customers.
The idea, Le Sieur says, was to merge Allaire’s Open Licensing Program with Macromedia’s Commercial Volume Licensing Program and Education Volume Licensing Program in an effort to make life easier for customers to purchase and manage Macromedia software licenses.
“The structure of the Macromedia licensing program versus the Allaire licensing was completely different, so obviously we needed to bring all the products under one umbrella.”
Le Sieur says it makes sense to purchase software under the new licensing program, dubbed the Macromedia Volume Licensing Program. “It’s just a better way to buy software from a client perspective. It allows you to manage your assets in a much more efficient way, obviously it gives you some kind of a discount versus buying a box product.”
He says the licensing program, which is divided into a commercial portion and an education and government component, is channel-friendly because it involves the reseller in the licensing renewal process.
Macromedia, meanwhile, will provide the customer with a quarterly statement detailing the amount of software they own, he says, indicating the program is structured to assign points to customers in order to move them to higher discount levels. “Every product counts for a certain number of points. Basically as you buy product, you put points in the bank, which gets you from one level to the next,” he said.
