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By KRISTA ROGERS
Published: July 2009
Last month, Socket announced the Socket Third-party Accessories Recommendation (STAR) Program. Connections writer Krista Rogers recently sat down with Senior Program Manager Ron Gibbs to learn more about the program and its benefits.
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A: Socket Mobile is in the business of making handheld computers and barcode scanners, and there are a handful of companies who focus their expertise on creating accessories and software for these devices. Knowing that, it made perfect sense to leverage existing products in the marketplace and to create beneficial partnerships with the companies providing these products.
Q: How was STAR conceived?
A: Our sales and product management teams have received a good amount of feedback about how many customers like our products, but they want the ability to accomplish certain tasks that require very special accessories in order to make that happen. Often, these accessories didn’t warrant Socket putting effort into development because the market demands were small and the requests weren’t always in our field of expertise; however, we knew that by finding partners who were already in the business of providing the pieces our customers were looking for, we would be able to form partnerships and make it easier for our customers to create customized, complete solutions that fit their business requirements.
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Q: How does the STAR Program benefit our partners?
A: STAR Program partners benefit by having their compatible products available to view on the Socket web site, thus exposing their company to thousands of potential customers on a daily basis. In addition, the Socket sales team is trained specifically on how STAR products complement Socket hardware giving STAR partners visibility in the field and priority placement when it comes to solution recommendations.
Q: What do Socket customers get out of STAR?
A: Customers benefit by seeing a complete solution to their challenges. By having a multitude of STAR partners, we’re able to offer a much wider choice of solutions to our customers— solutions that have been certified through the STAR Program and thus guaranteed to work.
Q: How do you see expanding the STAR Program in the future?
A: We are currently focused on hardware solutions and expect to be adding many more options such as printers, protective devices and additional plug-in cards. We will also look at offering software solutions. Much of the STAR Program is dictated by our customer demands so, in that sense, it’s a fluid expansion and will continue to grow as long as our customer’s demands continue to grow.
Initial participants of the STAR Program include: SpringCard, Seal Shield, Taylor Made Cases, Kenetics Group Ltd., Novatel Wireless, and Uniform Industrial Corporation (UIC). For more information, click here.