What It Is

A Value Added Reseller (VAR) is a reseller partner who not only distributes a vendor's products or services but also enhances them by offering tailored support, customization, and complementary services. These additional services may include system integration, technical consulting, installation, training, and ongoing maintenance. By leveraging their specialized expertise, VARs can adapt solutions to meet the specific needs of their customers, offering a more comprehensive package than standard reseller partners. This hands-on approach often helps simplify the technology adoption process for customers and leads to improved satisfaction, making VARs a strategic extension of a vendor's sales and support teams.

When to Use VAR Partners

Build VAR partnerships when your product requires customization, integration with existing systems, or implementation expertise that standard reseller partners don't provide. VARs are valuable when targeting enterprise or mid-market customers expecting turnkey solutions rather than just product purchases. Use VAR channels when your solution needs industry-specific configuration, when customers require ongoing technical support beyond your capacity, or when implementation complexity creates barriers to direct sales. VARs work best for infrastructure products, enterprise software, and technology solutions requiring integration with existing IT environments. They're essential when entering markets where buyers expect local partners to handle implementation and support.

How It Works

VARs join partner programs and receive extensive technical training, certifications, and solution architecture guidance. They purchase products at wholesale prices, then add services like needs assessment, custom configuration, integration development, installation, training, and ongoing support. VARs bundle product costs with service fees, creating complete solution packages. They own customer relationships from initial consultation through implementation and long-term support. Revenue models include wholesale pricing for products plus VARs charging separately for professional services, or all-inclusive pricing where VARs manage both product and service margins. Successful VAR programs provide technical certifications, solution blueprints, pre-sales engineering support, and deal registration to protect VAR investments in customer relationships.

Benefits for Partner Programs

VARs extend implementation capacity without building internal professional services teams. They make complex solutions accessible to customers who lack internal technical expertise for deployment. VARs create stickier customer relationships because implementation investments and ongoing support create high switching costs. In partner ecosystems, VARs provide local presence and industry expertise that accelerate market penetration. VARs often drive larger deal sizes by bundling products with valuable services customers need. For B2B companies in partner marketplaces, VAR partnerships signal solution maturity and enterprise readiness. Strong VAR channels generate recurring revenue through maintenance contracts and ongoing customer relationships that drive renewals and expansions.

VAR vs Standard Reseller Partners

VARs provide value-added services including customization, integration, implementation, and ongoing support alongside product resale. Standard reseller partners focus primarily on product distribution and basic sales support without extensive service offerings. VARs require deep technical expertise and certifications. Standard reseller partners need product knowledge but not implementation skills. VARs handle complex deployments and custom configurations. Standard reseller partners handle straightforward product sales. VARs target customers needing complete solutions with professional services. Standard reseller partners target customers with simpler needs or internal technical resources. Both are channel partners, but VARs provide full solution delivery while standard resellers provide product distribution. Partner programs often include both to serve different customer segments and complexity levels.