Hitachi Channel-Partner Program Earns Five Star-Rating from VARBusiness
Vice President of Americas Channels Tom Valiante Named to List of Top 100 Executives from VARBusiness and List of Top 50 Channel Chiefs from CRN
Hitachi Data Systems Named Among the "Most Channel Friendly" Vendors according to Survey Conducted by R.W. Baird
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—April 25, 2006— Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, provider of Services Oriented Storage Solutions™ solutions and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), today announced continued successful momentum for its channel partner program. CMP Media's VARBusiness magazine recognized Hitachi Data Systems as one of North America's top information technology (IT) vendors for its breadth and depth of channel-partner programs. Hitachi Data Systems received a five-star rating, acknowledging the robust features of its programs for IT integrators, resellers and consultants. Additionally, VARBusiness magazine named Tom Valiante, vice president of Americas Channels, to its list of the Top 100 Executives and CRN magazine named Valiante to its list of Top 50 Channel Chiefs. These awards reflect an ongoing momentum as the company was named among the "Most Channel Friendly" vendors in a survey of value added resellers (VARs) by R.W. Baird.
"We applaud vendors like Hitachi Data Systems for demonstrating best practices and for the leadership roles they have achieved within the IT distribution channel," said Lawrence M. Walsh, editor, VARBusiness.
"We have built a very strong network of world-class partners that strive to deliver the best products and services to our customers," said Karen Sigman, vice president, Global Channels, Hitachi Data Systems. "Close collaboration with our global partner community over several years has been instrumental in our success and our partners' success. I am very proud of what our channel team has accomplished this year."
"As a long-time Hitachi Data Systems partner, we value Hitachi's continued commitment and investments in the channel," said Charles Westling, president and CEO, Datalink. "From sales tools to training, we attribute much of our financial success with Hitachi to the channel team's efforts. We applaud the company's recent recognitions in the channel industry."
Of nearly 260 vendor programs reviewed this year for VARBusiness' 12th annual Partner Programs Guide, 73 programs from 70 different vendors received the coveted five-star distinction.
The VARBusiness "Top 100 Channel Executives" list is based on a survey of channel executives with respect to years of service, size of their channel programs and their partner priorities for the coming year. In addition to being published in the April 3 issue of VARBusiness magazine, the feature package and executive listing is posted to the Web at www.varbusiness.com.
CRN magazine recognizes the most influential channel executives who consistently create, promote and execute effective channel partner programs and strategies. The CRN Channel Chiefs are an elite group of individuals that consistently ensure that the voice of the channel is heard. The CRN Channel Chief list is in its fourth consecutive year. Top Channel Chiefs were chosen based on criteria including policy and program innovations made during the past year, the amount of revenue their company generates through partners, their willingness to speak out publicly on behalf of the channel, and the number of years they have dedicated to channel activities over the years.
Earlier this year, U.S. equity research firm, R.W. Baird released its Q42005 Enterprise VAR Survey. R.W. Baird interviewed 85 resellers ($18 billion in annual IT spend) across multiple geographies about purchasing habits, 2006 expectations, server/storage technology and major IT vendors. Hitachi Data Systems was rated among the "Most Channel Friendly" vendors according to VARs surveyed.
According to the report, "In aggregate, resellers rated Hitachi Data Systems highly as executing well in Q4, maintaining excellent channel relations, and having growth opportunities in 2006. We believe the TagmaStore's features and accompanying marketing push are driving sales. We also think Hitachi Data Systems is benefiting from a better executing HP and a more storage-focused Sun."
Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.
With approximately 2,900 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at http://www.hds.com.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March 31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Website at http://www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Data Systems
Mary Ann Gallo
(408) 970-4836
mary.ann@hds.com
© 2006, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. Services Oriented Storage Solutions is a trademark of Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. All other trade names, trademarks, and service marks used herein are the rightful property of their respective owners.
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