Brocade Executes on “The Effortless Network” Vision with New Channel Initiatives
New Initiatives Designed to Improve Growth Opportunities and Profitability for Brocade Alliance Partner Network Partners
In a concerted effort to fuel channel growth within the increasingly competitive campus LAN market, Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) today announced the rollout of several new channel programs to help partners better capitalize on sales opportunities. These programs include deal registration and demo program discounts, as well as a global Brocade® ICX™ switch seed unit initiative, which allows qualified partners to “test drive” the new products to gain valuable hands-on experience. In addition, these channel programs support “The Effortless Network™,” vision for delivering new levels of automation and simplification to the campus LAN environment.
The new initiatives are part of the Brocade Alliance Partner Network (APN) program, and are specifically designed to reward existing partners that currently offer campus LAN solutions, as well as attracting new channel partners. Combined with the latest additions to the Brocade campus LAN product portfolio – notably, the Brocade ICX 6430 and Brocade ICX 6450 switches with HyperEdge™ technology – these new campus-focused channel initiatives present partners with a compelling value proposition aimed at increasing their profitability.
“At the heart of most campus implementations is an IT organization that must respond to ever-changing business needs while reducing the cost of deploying and maintaining their networks,” said Julio Sanchez, vice president of Business Development, National Infrastructure Team at FishNet Security. “Our customers continually turn to us to provide the guidance and technical expertise necessary for a successful implementation. With Brocade, we get the most innovative campus LAN products on the market today and the right programs to help us compete and win.”
Increased Deal Registration Discounts
The Brocade ICX switch family is purpose-built for enterprise-class networks – yet priced to fit any budget. This new level of flexibility and investment protection translates into tangible growth opportunities for the channel, especially as end-user customers are increasingly compelled to achieve business objectives while operating under constrained IT budgets. Under this new deal registration program, qualified APN partners are eligible to receive additional discounts – above and beyond existing deal registration discounts – on secured deals that include Brocade ICX products. Through this program, Brocade is enabling APN partners to offer cutting-edge technologies and solutions to their customers, without sacrificing profitability.
Enhanced Demo and Rewards Programs
Brocade APN partners can acquire campus networking equipment for sales presentations or to equip their lab environments at significantly reduced rates. APN partners may use marketing development funds (MDF) to cover certain out-of-pocket expenses, allowing them to acquire demo gear, including new Brocade ICX products, at little to no cost.
In concert with the additions to the Brocade ICX product family, Brocade has heavily invested in a major channel seeding initiative that enables partners to “test drive” the products in advance to gain hands-on product experience. Acquiring a true working knowledge with the products enables partners to provide their customers with educated guidance and advice when implementing their campus networking strategy. Brocade has allocated hundreds of units to partners worldwide to drive increased engagement with customers.
Brocade will also broaden the scope of the Brocade Rewards program, a global program that rewards reseller sales representatives for their efforts in selling Brocade solutions, to include all Brocade Ethernet networking products. To further entice resellers, Brocade will also introduce specific accelerators throughout the year to drive additional rewards and highlight key products and solutions, such as the newly introduced products within the Brocade ICX switch family.
Channel Education and Training
Brocade also enhanced its training resources with the launch of a completely new APN Training site on MyBrocade, including course material on the Brocade campus LAN portfolio. The online training site serves as a comprehensive resource for partners seeking a wide range of education, certification and sales information in an easy-to-navigate format. In direct response to partner requests for more sales-ready tools and information to drive sales enablement, Brocade now offers complete specialized sales training courses that deliver targeted information to support partners throughout all stages of the sales cycle.
A new technical accreditation, the Brocade Accredited Campus Networking Specialist, is also now available to those partners looking to acquire knowledge and expertise about Brocade Layer 2/3 Ethernet products for campus networks.
“With the introductions of the Brocade ICX product portfolio and the new campus-focused APN initiatives, Brocade is delivering on its promise of leveraging the strength of the channel to bring about IT transformation – while empowering our partners to be more competitive,” said Barbara Spicek, vice president of Global Channels at Brocade. “We are focused on building technology solutions around the vision of ‘The Effortless Network,’ and extending that focus to our go-to-market strategy to help partners deliver radically simplified solutions that dramatically reduce network complexity and operational overhead.”
The new Brocade APN program initiatives are available now. To learn more, visit www.brocade.com/apn.
Additional Resources
- Video - Brocade's Barbara Spicek on new campus-focused APN initiatives: http://bit.ly/z4Fk3M
- Video - Dave Norwood of Trusted Network Solutions talks about channel profitability via the Brocade APN program: http://bit.ly/woelne
- Press release - Brocade Unveils "The Effortless Network": http://newsroom.brocade.com
About Brocade
Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) networking solutions help the world’s leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. (www.brocade.com)
###
Brocade, Brocade Assurance, the B-wing symbol, DCX, Fabric OS, MLX, SAN Health, VCS, and VDX are registered trademarks, and AnyIO, Brocade One, CloudPlex, Effortless Networking, ICX, NET Health, OpenScript, and The Effortless Network are trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. Other brands, products, or service names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.
© 2012 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.