Graphics card vendor, NVIDIA Corporation has claimed a 200 percent growth year over year in its partner channel programme. With this momentum, NVIDIA is planning an expansion of programmes and support for global partners in 2008.

NVIDIA’s also plans to host its first global PartnerForce conference, to be held in California, USA on 25-27 August.

NVIDIA’s end-to-end channel program includes the NVIDIA Authorised Board Partner Programme, Authorised Distributor Programme, and PartnerForce Programme.

These programmes deliver sales, marketing, support, and training programmes for qualified board partners, distributors, resellers, and system builders. In 2007, NVIDIA increased its partner reach with an expansion of the NVIDIA® PartnerForce programme by adding France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Poland, India, and China to its existing deployments in the US, Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, closing the year with more than 30,000 partners worldwide.

The Company also launched the “nTrain Initiative” which includes a series of global live Webinars as well as on-demand and face-to-face events.

John Lonergan, vice president of worldwide channel operations At NVIDIA said the company recognise the role its partners have played in NVIDIA’s success.

“In 2007, we really focused on expanding our global program reach giving more partners access to the product information, tools, and sales support,” said Lonergan.

However there has been no word on whether or not Australia will have a local channel representative.

Former NVIDIA Australian-based channel manager, Kevin Hartin, left his position in December 2007.

“When I finished up in December, Nvidia were planning to pull the channel manager role back to Taipei and run the Australian/New Zealand region out of the head office in Taipei,” said Hartin.

CRN has approached NVIDIA about its Australia channel plans, however media representatives said the company couldn’t respond at the time of press.