MongoDB Developer 10gen Revs Up Partner Program

The program is designed to provide 10gen's existing partners with technical and business resources, including MongoDB training and certification, as well as help the company recruit new partners.

"We've had significant interest [from solution providers] and we decided to get more structured about it," said Ed Albanese, 10gen business development vice president, in an interview. "It's an opportunity to grow the [partner] base."

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MongoDB is one of a growing number of next-generation NoSQL (for "not only SQL") database technologies developed as alternatives to traditional SQL relational database software. Backers of NoSQL databases say they are better suited to handle big data, including unstructured data, than relational databases.

10gen specifically refers to the technology as a "document database." As of early this year there were more than 3.8 million downloads of the open-source edition of MongoDB.

10gen has a number of reseller, technology and developer partners in North America and Europe, including hardware companies that bundle MongoDB with server and storage systems, software vendors that develop applications and business intelligence tools that run with the database, and VARs and distributors that resell the product.

Albanese declined to say what percentage of the company's sales currently involve a channel partner.

10gen also has a number of cloud service partners that use MongoDB in their Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, Software-as-a-Service and hosting services.

The new partner program includes three levels of participation: Member, Authorized and Strategic. Benefits for Members include support by request, MongoDB logo usage, and technical, marketing and sales kits. Authorized and Strategic partners are eligible for design assistance and access to product road maps, support with service level agreements, participation in an internal sales referral guide, and joint press relations services.

Members are required to have at least two trained technical staffers and two trained sales staff that meet hardware and software requirements, and have had at least one successful deal. In addition to those requirements, Authorized and Strategic partners must have a validated product, successful customer case studies, and trained technical and sales staff for services.

10gen is providing a validation program to certify that third-party software products support MongoDB APIs and comply with development integration guidelines, Albanese said.

PUBLISHED MARCH 15, 2013