Sun's new Software Specialties enable partners to expand their integration services expertise for high value services-rich deployments, grow top line revenue and margins and differentiate themselves from their competitors by providing customers more value with comprehensive solutions. Software Specialties provide a new entry point into the Sun Partner Advantage Program for partners focused on providing these high-value integration and consulting services to solve their customers' most urgent business problems including, the need to quickly develop new applications, run them more securely, connect with more customers, protect user identities and provide a more flexible infrastructure for their company's growth. The program provides a framework for partners to engage with Sun and build successful practices around software technologies that solve customer problems. It gives integration and consulting partners the necessary tools and intellectual capital to sell and deploy customer solutions around market-leading Sun software, including identity management, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), open storage, Sun xVM Ops Center, xVM Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and MySQL. The new framework makes it easy for partners to build Specialties around a number of technologies to match their needs as they grow into new areas.

"Through the Identity Management Specialty, Sun has developed a program that recognizes our expertise and the value that we can bring to the ecosystem," said Brian Brannigan, managing director, Agreon, a Sun Partner Advantage member based in Australia. "By providing the content, tools and support to enhance our business, our customers are the ultimate winners. Sun's open source approach takes this to a new level by significantly reducing the barriers to both entry and exit."

Sun is expanding its commitment to the channel with the Open Access Channel Program which gives resellers a simple, no barrier to entry option for gaining access to Sun's software portfolio. New resellers can grow their businesses by expanding their product portfolios to include Sun software solutions. Distributors can grow their businesses by recruiting and cultivating new partner relationships focused on selling Sun software with little investment and risk. Existing partners who have already invested in Sun software will continue to receive the extensive program benefits that are available only to Sun Partner Advantage Program participants.