From the desk of Pavan Kumar, senior vice president, global indirect business, Altair

Tell us about the Altair channel partner program.

Over the past 15+ years, the Altair channel partner program has evolved into a truly global business ecosystem. Above all else, it’s designed to attract, retain, and grow a diverse profile of resellers – from passionate, first-time ‘technopreneurs’ to large, well-established  organizations. What they all share is a strong desire to be part of the Altair success story in data analytics, simulation, and cloud/HPC, and to contribute and prosper by promoting our compelling brand and technologies.

The program now extends to more than 60 countries and approximately 200 partners, tiered across five categories according to the different Altair solutions that they sell and support.

What are the key criteria to be a successful member of the Altair channel partner program?

We expect all our partners to be passionate about investing in and applying cutting edge technology for their customers. They also need a good understanding of, and access to, their target markets.

Our engagement starts with alignment. “Do you share Altair’s vision, ambition, and passion?” It is followed by open communication to promote a high level of collaboration and minimize channel conflicts.

Our channel business is based on three pillars:

1. Enablement
2. Engagement/communication
3. Active market development/promotion

Once an organization becomes a channel partner there are a number of avenues to enhance their skills on Altair solutions via our learning and certification platforms, communication platforms, formal/informal interations with us, incentive plans, and by leveraging the countless pre-packaged marketing campaigns designed for lead-gen and brand development. Altair’s local channel teams also offer continuous support and mentoring on sales, marketing, and technical engagements and concept of shared MDF.

What resources does Altair provide to help channel partners be successful?

Channel partners are part of a closely knit Altair family. We provide them with NFR licenses, and best-in-class training and certification for using Altair tools effectively. Channel partners also benefit from high-quality technical and marketing collateral, relevant leads from our marketing campaigns, and a success-oriented marketing development fund that enables them to generate their own new business enquiries. In addition, we have clearly identified swim lanes for our channel partners, allowing them to better focus their market development efforts and protect business interests.

Most regions also benefit from a dedicated local channel management team that is invested in the success of our partners. This includes nurturing first-time technopreneurs with relevant sales and technical support.

What industry sectors are Altair channel partners engaged in?

Broadly speaking, our channel partners support all sectors including automotive; aerospace; federal/government; industrial goods; start-ups; healthcare; banking, financial services and insurance; retail; manufacturing and more. However, we do tailor access based on regional priorities and mutually agreed goals.

Tell us about a successful channel partner.

We have multiple partners across various regions that have successfully been working with us for more than 15 years. For example, Trinity Engineering in Korea, Designtech in India, and ST Engineering in Turkey are three that immediately come to mind.

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What are the biggest areas of growth opportunity that Altair channel partners can explore?

Across almost all industry verticals, there is extremely high head room for growth in Altair’s core markets of simulation and data analytics. In simulation, the low hanging fruit can be found in OEM supply chains in the automotive, general engineering, aerospace, and white goods sectors. On the data analytics front, there are great growth rates in banking, financial services, insurance, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Where can prospective partners go for more information?

To learn more about our partnering options, please visit https://www.altair.com/partners/.