Diamond Partner Programme (DPP) 2000 Germany

In order to meet today's challenge from customer orientated competition, NCD has completely revised its Partner Programme and made it the centrepiece of its sales and marketing strategy. So we are bringing our strengths and yours together to serve our customers better and to promote your successful businesses. The new NCD Diamond Partner Programme offers a large number of improvements in addition to the existing advantages, which will help you to be able to face up to the competition better with NCD products.

The 3 stage Diamond Partner Programme

With the growing thin client market, the number of possible NCD partners is also increasing. For this reason we have decided on a three stage programme that offers every partner the possibility of reaching his proper status depending on his man power and market knowledge. The 3 stages are

How to get started

Click here (German Version/PDF format) to download and fill in the evaluation form and send it to NCD. In this way you will take part in the authorisation process and will be able to gain the status of "Authorized Reseller".

If you would like to join NCD in the strong growth of this innovative market as a "Diamond Partner", order the Diamond Partner Starter Kit and you will receive extensive sales and marketing support.

You will receive Premium Diamond Partner status when your sales of NCD products continually grow over a year and you have established yourself in the market as a "Thin client expert" with the help of NCD.

The authorisation process

The authorisation criteria enable NCD to qualify the partners. As a sales partner you stand out because of special "value added" or integration services and are in the position to advise customers competently. Your activities are not restricted exclusively to the regional market and you will be able to supply and implement complete one-stop IT solutions with hardware, software and services. NCD partners are in any case financially stable companies who are ready to invest in a good. Long-term partnership - especially in the area of staff qualifications. NCD will support you in this by:

1. Training
Technical and sales expertise is passed on to our partners in regular sales and technical training sessions. The sales training lasts about 5 hours, the technical training lasts a day. Training sessions are run by the responsible NCD branch. Basic training sessions are contained in the starter kit and are free for 1 member of the sales staff and 2 members of the technical staff each. Regular training of staff is compulsory.

2. Partner care
Each NCD partner will be looked after by one of our partner sales staff, whose job it is to co-ordinate procedures, to provide a flow of information and to be on hand for the partner with moral and practical support.

3. Reporting
At the beginning of each financial year, NCD will agree business and marketing plans with their Diamond and Premium Diamond partners. By regular reporting and forecasting, the attainment of commonly defined targets will be monitored, corrections made and if necessary, new strategies drawn up.

4. Demo equipment
Working out NCD solutions and implementing them successfully requires a very precise knowledge of the technology used. It is only in this way that the products can be used to their best advantage and their full performance capacity be reached. As an NCD Diamond partner (by obtaining the Diamond Partner starter kit) you will receive the latest hardware and software for demonstration and training purposes.

The advantages of a Diamond partnership:

1. Starter package
Companies who want to survive in the increasingly narrow IT solutions market segment can listen to the customer's requirements, show him corresponding sets of solutions, implement them and be there to support over the whole life cycle of the installation. The NCD Diamond Partner starter kit contains all the documentation and relevant technical equipment to cope with these requirements from the beginning. Sales and marketing documents are included as well as demo equipment and vouchers for staff training.

2. MDF (Market Development Fund)
A cornerstone of the NCD Diamond partner programme is the world wide MDF programme. Business partners are credited with financial funds from the MDF. The amount of this fund is a percentage of the quarterly sales that Diamond and Premium Diamond partners generate with NCD products. You can use these funds to finance marketing measures such as trade exhibitions, advertising, training and certification, seminars and much more.

3. Joint appearances
The most important platforms for joint appearances are undoubtedly the leading international trade exhibitions such as CeBIT, Systems, CAT, Orbit or infabo, where NCD and its partners present a number of industry specific solutions. But NCD also offers extensive support at regional and even local exhibitions, so that our business partners can reach specific interested parties and customers locally. As well as exhibitions we carry out specialist, product and motivational events jointly with you and for you and will tell you individually about theme related seminars and training sessions. These events will help the mutual exchange of information and will strengthen our partnership.

4. Marketing support
All NCD Diamond and Premium Diamond partners are listed on our web site and have links directly to their own home page. As a Diamond and Premium Diamond partner you are entitled to use the NCD partner logo on all offers, mailings, invitations etc. Advertisements, mailing documents, data sheets etc. will help you to implement forward looking system designs and powerful applications in the customer's language objectively and competently. Furthermore, as a Diamond and Premium Diamond partner you will have access to the NCD diamond mine, where you will have constant access to the latest developments and solutions.

5. Sales support
"Team selling" is stressed at NCD. The aim of our sales strategy is the optimum co-operation between the partners and the NCD partner sales team for the good of the customer. Therefore at NCD the roles are clearly defined:

In order to survive in this highly competitive market, under certain conditions Diamond and Premium Diamond partners will have so-called project prices. These can be applied for through the Special Price Quote (SPQ procedure) from NCD.

Certification process for NCD Diamond Partners

With the Diamond Partner Programme 2000 NCD has developed a comprehensive, internationally valid programme for all sales partners, that has only one aim: the skill of your staff and thus the success of your company. Within the Diamond Partner programme your staff can have intensive training on NCD's strategies, technology and products. With this programme we will help your staff to use NCD products to their best advantage. The Diamond Partner programme exists for the development of our products and technologies and will support you and your staff during your whole partnership with NCD. At the same time it ensures that you are always up to date with the latest expertise from which your customers will profit again. Regular update training sessions will ensure that your staff are always fully conversant with the latest state of NCD products and technology.

Certification through the NCD Diamond Partner programme offers a wide range of advantages. Because you have certified staff, your company will stand out as a professional partner in thin client computing and it will thus serve as a clear mark of quality for your existing and potential customers.

Certification within the Diamond Partner programme is also a pre-condition for working with NCD on projects they have acquired because our sales and support organisation knows that you can be relied on in projects. If you want to be an authorised NCD sales partner, you must in any case be a certified authorised reseller.

The way to certification

Each authorised NCD partner can take part in certification through the Diamond Partner programme. But the following conditions must be fulfilled:

Technical expertise
Part of the certification is aimed at your technical staff who are responsible for installation, administration and maintenance of NCD products. These training sessions will be run regularly by the NCD branch responsible. The dates for training sessions will be found in the Diamond Mine or in the NCD news. You will be tested on the knowledge that you will learn in the optional courses. Successfully passing this test is a condition for certification as a Diamond Partner.

Product knowledge
In the business training that is held at NCD premises, your sales staff will receive extensive information on NCD, our technology and strategies as well as product positioning and performance data. Participation by a specified number of your sales staff is a pre-requisite for certification. The number of participants depends on the status you are aiming to acquire.

Certification of your company
If the above conditions have been fulfilled, the sales partner will receive NCD Diamond Partner or NCD Premium Diamond Partner certification. Your staff will receive a certificate to show they have taken part and you will also receive a valuable plaque which will show that you have acquired Diamond Partner status for your company. Certification of your company is valid for a year and is extended automatically if you attend update training sessions regularly. If an employee who has been certified by the Diamond Partner programme leaves your company, certification will cease at the end of the year in which the certification was awarded if you do not send any new employees or have them sit the test set by NCD service.

Diamond Partner Programme summary

	NCD Authorized Reseller	NCD Diamond Partner	NCD Premium Diamond Partner
Min. sales staff for NCD products	1	1	2
Min. technical staff for NCD products	-	1	2
Thin client experience	Basic	Good	Very Good
Sales target per quarter/euros	-	100K Euro	200K Euro
Reporting	On request	Quarterly	Monthly
NCD Web site	Listed	Link to NCD	Link from and to NCD
Allocating qualified leads	Limited	Yes	Yes
Special price quotations (SPQ)	Limited	Yes	Yes
Sales and marketing support	Limited	Yes	Yes
MDF (Market Development Fund)	No	Yes	Yes
Access to Diamond Mine	No	Yes	Yes
Test of Beta versions	No	Limited	Yes

You have the advantage of working closely with your customers, and knowing their business and can translate their changing requirements into their current needs. We have the advantage of having the most reliable name in the world in thin client computing, with a unique reputation world wide for quality, dependability and value. Together we are an unbeatable team.

We look forward to welcoming you soon as a new NCD Diamond Partner!

Join Today!

Click here (German Version/PDF format) to download and fill in the evaluation form and send it to NCD.