Blog · Buyer guides

What does a certified Sirdar partner mean for a buyer?

The Sirdar Partner Network's tiers and specializations, explained from the buyer's side of the table: what a badge proves, what it does not, and how to read a partner's profile.

A certified Sirdar partner is a company whose people have completed the certification for a Sirdar Partner Network tier and keep it current. The four cumulative tiers are Authorized, Select, Premier and Elite; Authorized Distributor is a separate designation for stocking and activation. A specialization says the partner has certified people delivering that practice today. For a buyer the badge answers one question: which parts of a Sirdar site can this partner quote, commission and support on its own?

Marin Vale · Chief Revenue Officer, Sirdar Systems · · 4 min read

Last updated

Why does Sirdar only sell through partners?

Because the product only works when the people installing it understand the site better than Sirdar does.

Sirdar learned that on its first robot deployments and moved to 100% channel sales in 2018 with its first 40 partners. Today the Sirdar Partner Network (SPN) counts 224 partners in 7 regions, including 3 Authorized Distributors. Every Sirdar site is quoted, installed and supported by one of them. Sirdar builds the products, trains the partners and stands behind both.

What are the four tiers?

The tiers are cumulative. Each one adds a practice to the one below it.

  • Authorized is the entry tier: program fluency and Sentinel sales.
  • Select adds Aether, Halo and security-operations delivery.
  • Premier adds independent Kinetic fleet and Atlas deployment.
  • Elite is by invitation: managed autonomy and safety-case authorship.

Tiers are earned through completed certification and kept by renewing it. Nobody is grandfathered when requirements change. A partner card on our site shows the tier a partner holds today, never the one it is working toward.

What is an Authorized Distributor?

A separate designation with its own duties: stocking, activation-key custody and reseller enablement.

There are three. Keystone Distribution serves North America, Prism Arc Distribution serves EMEA and Orbit Bay Distribution serves APAC. A new reseller in your region buys and activates through its distributor until it holds its own custody. On some sites the distributor is named alongside the reseller as partner of record, as at the Port of Halvard with Keystone Distribution and Northgate Technologies.

What does a specialization prove?

That a partner has certified people delivering that practice today. It reflects delivery, not size.

There are seven: Security Operations, Atlas Integration, Kinetic Deployment, Halo Deployment, Managed Autonomy, Safety Case and Sovereign Cloud. Read them against your site. A substation programme wants Halo Deployment and Security Operations. A machine-tending programme wants Kinetic Deployment and Atlas Integration. A regulated site that must keep agent state and training data in-region wants Sovereign Cloud.

Granite Peak Technologies, the partner of record for Meridian Freight's 38 connected sites, holds Premier with Security Operations, Atlas Integration, Kinetic Deployment and Halo Deployment. Cinder Ridge Automation, which commissioned 16 Kinetic units for Vale Norte Mining with signed safety cases on every one, holds Elite with the Safety Case and Managed Autonomy specializations. The badge and the outcome line up.

What does the badge not tell you?

It does not tell you the partner's size, its price or how busy it is. It does not tell you who will be on your site.

Ask. A certified partner can name the people who will commission your site and the certification each one holds. Since 2026 the partner's certification record lives in the Sirdar Partner Portal on Vera by UnicornIQ, so the answer is a lookup, not a promise.

How does a buyer read a partner profile?

Every profile on our Find a partner page shows four things: the region, the kind of company (distributor, value-added reseller, managed service provider, systems or robotics integrator, software vendor), the tier held today and the specializations earned. Partners still earning a tier are labelled as such.

Filter by your region and the product lines you are evaluating. Then look for the specialization that matches the hardest part of your project, not the easiest.

Regions are named plainly: North America, LATAM, EMEA, APAC, ANZ, India and the Middle East. A partner listed in your region is one that Sirdar has enabled to quote and support there, with a distributor behind it for stock and activation. A partner from another region can still work with you, but ask who will be on site and how support is handled after go-live.

What does "partner of record" mean?

The company that quoted, commissioned and supports your site, named on every customer story we publish.

One partner of record protects you as much as it protects the partner. A valid registration means the company that found and worked your opportunity is the one accountable for it. Duplicates and cross-region conflicts are declined. If you are unsure who your partner of record is, ask Sirdar and we will tell you.

What should a buyer expect from a certified partner?

  • A quote from the current list prices, every time.
  • A commissioning plan that starts with Sentinel enrolment and Halo calibration.
  • A safety case signed by the partner and by you before any Kinetic unit runs unattended.
  • A named point of contact for support after go-live.

If a partner cannot commit to those four, ask us for an introduction to one who can.

Last updated 2026-09-30.

Questions and answers

Can a partner skip a tier?
No. The four SPN tiers are cumulative and each is earned through completed certification. Elite is reached by invitation on top of Premier.
Does a higher tier mean a better partner for my site?
Not necessarily. A Select partner with the Halo Deployment specialization may fit a measurement-only substation programme better than a Premier partner whose practice is Kinetic fleets. Match the specialization to the hardest part of your project.
What is the difference between a partner and an Authorized Distributor?
Distributors stock product, hold activation keys and enable resellers. Resellers, integrators and managed service providers quote, commission and support sites. Some sites name both as partner of record.
How do I know a partner's tier is current?
Our partner directory shows only the tier a partner holds today. A partner still earning a tier is labelled as working toward it.

#Partners #Certification #Buying #Sirdar Partner Network