OREANDA-NEWS. March 30, 2011. Fujitsu (http://solutions.us.fujitsu.com) today announced that it has been named to CRN's 2011 Partner Programs Guide at the 5 Star rating. The 5-Star Partner Program rating recognizes the elite subset of Partner Program Guide vendors who give solution providers the best partnering elements in their channel programs. The 5-Star rating is bestowed on programs whose overall rating is among the elite based on company size -- Enterprise, Midsized, Small and Emerging companies.

CRN's Partner Programs Guide rating serves as the definitive list of vendors who have robust partner programs or products that service solution providers offer directly to the IT channel. The annual list recognizes the vendors who offer solution providers the best possible partnering elements for channel success.

Over the past year, Fujitsu has increased awareness to its channel program by hitting several fronts. A matured Market Development Funds (MDF) Program, which reinvests funding back to partners for joint marketing activities, has seen a significant increase in participation over the past three quarters. Involvement in the partner rewards program has amplified as well, suggesting full-scale rebates and incentives offerings are hitting the right mark.

A primary challenge all Channel Sales teams face is making the partner aware of the brand, the product and aware of how to sell it. Fujitsu heard their partners, recently announcing a smartphone directory. The smartphone-compliant mobile directory, dubbed "GOSell," is unique from an App in that it is 'installed' simply as a Favorite URL, and does not need updating every time edits are made, it refreshes itself upon connection.

"The companies listed on the 2011 Partner Programs Guide represent the best channel programs in the market today. Each of these organizations understands that technology alone does not make for a successful channel program. By focusing on delivering a comprehensive partner program, vendors and solution providers can work together to drive business opportunities and revenue," said Kelley Damore, VP and Editorial Director, for Everything Channel's CRN.

"We are very excited about being named to CRN's 2011 Partner Programs Guide," said Matt McManus, vice president of channel sales at Fujitsu America. "Being listed among the best channel programs in the market helps realize our goal to empowering our partners with the best sales tools and technology solutions."

The 2011 Partner Programs Guide listing will be featured on CRN.com and in the March 28th issue of CRN.