How Adobe Partners Set Themselves Apart with Specialization

Attracting good, reliable talent and differentiating yourself in a crowded marketplace will remain top challenges for Adobe partners in 2016. According to the recent Adobe Experience Manager Market Report by Computer Futures, it’s estimated that there are approximately 20 open positions for every qualified AEM developer, creating a talent vacuum among agencies and solution integrators around the world. Organizations that want to transform their digital marketing strategies are constantly searching for top, quality experts that could help them take it to the next level.

We launched Specialization as a component of our Solution Partner Program in January 2015 to give our partners the opportunity to develop and showcase their Adobe expertise and differentiate themselves in the marketplace. In the 10 months since, more than 45 partners have achieved Specialization, allowing them to promote their organization as being able to deliver innovative Adobe digital marketing solutions in specific geographies.

Adobe Specialized Partners have proven their proficiency in specific solutions within Adobe Marketing Cloud—ranging from Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Campaign, and Adobe Media Optimizer-Search (with the remaining Adobe Marketing Cloud solutions following soon). These companies have achieved the requisite number of technical certifications, have multiple successful customer implementations, and are active partners that have achieved a certain level of sales.

Three of the most recent partners to earn Specializations are Epsilon, which became an Adobe Specialized Partner in Adobe Campaign; Accordant, which became an Adobe Specialized Partner in Adobe Media Optimizer-Search; and Media Experts, which also became an Adobe Specialized Partner in Adobe Media Optimizer-Search. Already, Adobe Specialization is showing dividends among organizations that made it a priority to earn specialization status in 2015.

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Wipro: Turning Leads into Customers

Wipro became an Adobe Experience Manager Specialized Partner in early 2015 in the Americas and immediately began promoting its Specialized status in customer presentations and sales pitches. “We were able to showcase our relationship with Adobe and our commitment to building sustainable competency,” said Venu Kanduri, Adobe Practice Head for Wipro North America. The ability to tout its status as a Specialized Partner lead to a 30 percent increase in conversion—a figure that Kanduri expects to continue to grow in 2016. “Specialization provided us a special status that our customers did not find with our competition. Moreover, it demonstrated our commitment, competency building strategy, credibility, deep expertise and invariably our confidence in delivery excellence. These factors help close deals.” The company is working on Specialized status for Adobe Experience Manager in Europe.

Infosys: Attracting Top Talent

Infosys became Specialized in Adobe Experience Manager in North America and Asia Pacific in early 2015, and recently became Specialized in Europe making them a Global AEM Specialized Partner. According to Vivek Shaurya of Infosys, the organization’s Specialized status has enhanced its reputation among developers and has given it a leg up on attracting top talent. Becoming Specialized has put Infosys in a small yet elite group of Adobe partners, making it an attractive place to work. Potential customers have noticed the talent acquisition and recognize that Infosys has the talent, team and skills in place to deliver innovative digital marketing solutions.

Tricode Professional Services: Positioned as an Adobe Leader

The Benelux region in Europe is a small but growing marketplace for digital marketing agencies and solution integrators, and Tricode Professional Services was looking to differentiate itself in this emerging market. According to Jasper Mulders, the agency’s owner, Tricode decided to build its digital marketing practice on Adobe Experience Manager, believing that the solution would provide a standard framework for its services and enable customized solutions for customers. The problem was that there were few Adobe experts in the region. However, Tricode was able to hire local Java experts and train them internally on Adobe solutions, guiding the company toward Specialization along the way. The structure around the Specialization process gave Tricode the framework to ensure expertise. As a result, the company achieved Specialization in Adobe Experience Manager in Europe and is now able to position itself as the leading Adobe Experience Manager integrator in Benelux, setting it apart from competitors for organizations that want to leverage Adobe digital marketing solutions to transform their business.

VML: Delivering Added Value to Customers

VML has been using Adobe Experience Manager (formerly CQ) since 2008 and became an AEM Specialized Partner in the Americas in early 2015. VML was the first WPP agency in North America to achieve a Specialization. “When Adobe announced its Specialization requirement, VML took the challenge seriously and was diligent in getting our teams enrolled and progressing towards specialization in the individual offerings”, says Brad Meehan, Global Adobe Alliance Manager at VML. “We have incorporated the [AEM] specialization designation and the process we used to get it as a practical example of how our relationship with Adobe can directly benefit our joint clients in several recent wins and pitches. We look forward to being able to push this further as it becomes more known among clients and prospects.” Currently VML is working toward AEM Specializations in EMEA and APAC and Analytics Specialization in the Americas.

Wunderman EMEA Center of Excellence: Increased Visibility within Adobe

A long-time Adobe partner, Wunderman EMEA Center of Excellence sought to differentiate itself further by becoming the first partner to achieve Specialized status globally for Adobe Campaign. According to James Burr, the organization’s Sr. Business Development Director, Wunderman’s ability to demonstrate its expertise on Adobe Campaign has elevated its visibility within Adobe, increasing access to sales and technical resources while ensuring it is included in all stages of the sales cycle. Specialized status assures Adobe personnel that Wunderman can help customers orchestrate one-to-one marketing communications across channels and deliver complex global and multi-lingual campaigns around the world—the organization’s specialty.

Take the Next Step in 2016

If you’re an Adobe Solution Partner achieving Specialization is the best way to attract top talent, differentiate your organization in a crowded marketplace, and tout your close relationship with Adobe. Now is a good time to lay the groundwork for a successful 2016. Start your journey towards capability, capacity, and consistent** **delivery.

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