Centeris announced the Centeris WorldPartner Program targeting value added resellers (VARs) and organizations offering complementary technologies to the Centeris Likewise Management Suite. Centeris is actively seeking partners that support Centeris’ vision for providing true interoperability, including VARs that provide pre- and post-sales customer support and technology companies that believe IT solutions should not be limited to one platform. Centeris’ WorldPartner Program provides enhanced revenue opportunities through product discounts and marketing support programs.

"Interoperability has become an extremely popular topic within the IT community as both Linux and Windows operating systems continue to strengthen their foothold inside today’s organizations," said Lee Finck, vice president of sales at Centeris. "Interoperability and directory services consolidation have proven to be profitable growth segments for our partners. We have a pre-built eco-system of OEM relationships and a growing worldwide partner base, including IBM and Novell, which endorse our solution and go to market with us through their channel programs." Novell includes a 1-year license of Centeris Likewise in versions of the Integrated Stack for Suse Linux, or ISSLE. The focus of ISSLE is to give our customers an easier path to adoption of Linux in existing Windows environments.

Finck added, "We are ready to start working closely with additional qualified resellers and technology partners to extend the reach of Likewise and capitalize on the growing demand for interoperability products and services. Our partner program gives VARs and technology companies the tools and resources they need to grow their businesses."

The Centeris WorldPartner Program provides reseller organizations with product discounts, sales and marketing support and tools, priority technical support, technical and sales training, trial products and joint marketing and PR opportunities. Centeris also provides testing and certification for technology partner hardware and software solutions to ensure successful integration and seamless compatibility with the Centeris Likewise Management Suite.

"Centeris has launched a partner program at the right time, as the demand for interoperability products and services is on the rise," said Bob Kusche, president of VM Assist. "Our customers are using both Linux and Windows servers, and need solutions that will make it easier for them to manage these mixed environments. Centeris understands the market and has developed a proven technology and innovative partner program that will solve our customers’ challenges and provide us with an additional revenue-generating opportunity."

Centeris has developed alliances with many of the industry’s leading IT companies, including IBM, Microsoft, Novell and Red Hat. The company’s flagship product, Likewise 2.0, is a server management solution that helps organizations to manage Windows and Linux on the same network. Likewise strengthens identity and access management across servers by simplifying server roles and joining Linux servers to Active Directory. Likewise provides familiar Windows-based management tools allowing organizations to leverage their existing Windows administrators to manage Linux servers without additional training or complex system management frameworks.