The programme is designed to build on and extend the feature and functionality set already present within the existing Panasonic voice systems solutions. It is open to companies and developers who focus in specific areas of the telephony solutions market not already addressed by Panasonic.
“Today no company is an island,” said Steve Gerrard, Marketing Manager for PSNE. “No matter how easy you make them appear to end users, business communication systems are sophisticated pieces of software and hardware engineering. In an increasingly open, application-driven market it is necessary to form strong alliances with like-minded technical companies that can enable PSNE to broaden solution offerings and deliver compelling communication applications and solutions.”
The new Solutions Partner Programme both formalises PSNE’s existing technical partner relationships and lays the foundation for the addition of new partnerships.
Operating as a 3-tiered membership programme, differentiated by both the level of technical integration desired and commercially by the geography in which the solution is to be marketed. “It’s not a hierarchical scheme”, explains Gerrard, “Panasonic is a global player and in some cases we simply need some local additions to our product range that require little or no technical integration into our applications or solutions. In other cases we partner with developers, integrators or other companies on solution enhancements that require significant technical interaction between both companies and will have a global commercial roll out”.
The benefit for PSNE customers is clear, not only will they have access to a wider and deeper range of applications and solutions but they can feel assured that members of the Solutions Partner Programme are supported and endorsed by Panasonic.
PSNE also shares development roadmap information with appropriate scheme members and likewise works on forward integration and cross-compatibility. So, as PSNE introduces new systems and feature releases on both its’ NCP and TDE platforms, as well as Communications Assistant, the company’s unified communications suite of applications, members of the programme will already have developed the appropriate interfaces into their own application and system components.
“Some of our existing development Partners have already joined the membership scheme”, said Gerrard, “and we expect to make a few more exciting announcements over the coming weeks.”