2008-10-13 12:05:42 - Due to growing demand around the eZ Publish Content Management System, eZ's Professional Partner Network has experienced incredible growth over the past two years. eZ recognizes the important of its Partner Network and is introducing an updated program.

Changes include an updated training and certification program for partners, a clearer distinction between the different partner levels, and a stronger commitment from Gold Partners around the subscription model.

eZ has a clear partner strategy where all implementation work is done by its official partners. Such work includes design, integration, and hosting services. As the creator of eZ Publish, eZ's role

is to enable partners to deliver the best solutions by backing them up with training, certification, expert consulting, and support & maintenance.

The demand for eZ Publish among large organizations has contributed significantly to the Partner Network's recent growth. In 2006, eZ had 50 worldwide partners. Two years later, more than 230 companies are official eZ Partners.

eZ's presence as a leading software vendor helps customers to choose among qualified partners. 'Enterprise Open Source makes us able to qualify our partners,' explains Bertrand Maugain, Global Partner Manager at eZ. 'Many enterprises choose eZ Publish because it is backed by a trustable entity that can qualify and recommend the most relevant IT companies around the world for their specific needs. This is a key differentiating factor when compared to most other Open Source CMS.'

The eZ Partner Program combines Open Source values with commercial benefits. It rewards partners for their community and commercial activities.

The program is open to any IT company able to deliver services around eZ Publish. eZ provides special training and certification services to help new partners to start with this Enterprise Content Management System. 'We are dedicated to bringing new partners up to speed quickly by certifying them. This is key for eZ to answer the growing demand around our technology,' says Aleksander Farstad, CEO of eZ.

A trained and certified partner can now reach the second of four partner levels immediately to become a Silver Partner.

To reach the Gold partner level, companies also commit to delivering all of their projects based on eZ Publish Premium, which ensures that customer websites come with support, maintenance, and guarantees delivered by eZ.

Being an official eZ Partner has many benefits, the details of which depend on the company's partner level. Below is a brief outline of the partner benefits:

● Receive project referrals
eZ gets an increaseing number of inquiries every day from organizations who are looking to establish or improve their online presence. Each request is qualified and handed over to the most relevant partner.

● Earn discounts and commissions on eZ's products and services
The best partners get privileges when it comes to accessing our services, enabling them to deliver quicker and better solutions.

● Visibility
Each partner gets an individual listing on eZ's website. eZ further promotes their most committed partners in their press releases, material, events, and presentations.

eZ's updated program is eZ Partner Program 2009. It includes improvements based on partners' feedback to suit partners' business models even better. You can learn more about the eZ Partner Program and download the latest eZ Partner Program here.

ez.no/partners/ez_partner_program