We run a very international business. I travel around the world to meet (potential) partners and explore opportunities in various countries. Nowadays we have BackupAgent partners in 17 countries. We are gradually expanding our partner network across Europe and North-America.

Occasionally we get foreign visitors in our office. Last week we had a visit from the president of an IT firm in Canada. He decided to travel to our headquarters in Delft to learn all there is to know about BackupAgent. I can highly appreciate such an initiative since this shows a lot of commitment and interest in our company. He was pleased to hear that we also fully support the French language for his potential customers in Quebec.

It is nice and helpful to see a face behind a partner company, because it gives us a better understanding of the people and the business they are doing. We strongly believe in a thing called 'vitamin R' (which is not Ritalin but Relation). We want to know all the whereabouts of our partners so we can fully support them as they are developing their online backup business. It is very interesing for us to know how our partners approach the market, what level of support and service they provide and if they combine with other services or products. And obviously it is highly appreciated when partners take the time to travel to our office.

This 'vitamin R' approach is also very important for us to qualify our partners. Each partner has unique competencies and can cover a specific segment of the market, either geographically, by target market or otherwise. It allows us to cover a broader market.