To our TANDBERG Partner community,
 
As you have learned from your Channel Development Partner, TMDistributing, TANDBERG has initiated an exciting new certification program that is being rolled out now. While the "what" of the program is fairly easy to see, the "why" is just as important to understand.   
 
As the CISCO Systems acquisition of TANDBERG is completed, all expectations are that the "perfect storm" of awareness, capability, affordability and functionality of our Telepresence solutions will cause them to achieve a mass market appeal.   This potential market explosion will create opportunities for all involved.  Our challenge internally and through our channel partner base will be to assure we can scale rapidly to capitalize on this market growth. However we are not looking to increase our partner base in size alone. Our goal is to include partners that bring a value add such as AV Integration, Network Systems Integration, Service Provider or Videoconferencing Specialist. We intend to protect your investment in our solutions by managing the partner base carefully.
 
As our market moves forward and expands, the competence of our partner base in providing Telepresence solutions will be critical to our mutual success. The goal of our new program is to assure to everyone that our partners are fully trained and competent to provide these solutions. For that reason we are asking all TANDBERG partners to meet specific targets for training and demo/lab equipment. Over the next few months it will be important to work with your Channel Development Partner to assure your company has met these targets to keep you in this elite group of TANDBERG certified partners. This is not something to put off until the last opportunity. Those dealers who work through the process quickly will be the first in line to benefit from the market momentum.
 
We hope you will agree that this opportunity is significant. The power of CISCO Systems driving Telepresence demand will be a force our market has never before seen. In the near future as you see a commercial, product placement on "24" and "30 Rock" or full page adds in major magazines promoting Telepresence it will be promoting your business. Your goal should be to assure your company is ready. Please work with TMDistributing to schedule your place in upcoming training sessions.
 
We look forward to working with you as we move forward in these exciting times,
 
Paul Depperschmidt
TANDBERG
Director of Distribution US