Big Switch Networks targets Dell and HPE resellers with new partner program

Data centre networking vendor Big Switch Networks has responded to its Australian business "ramping up" by launching a channel partner program that targets HPE and Dell EMC resellers.

The new program, touting a set of partner incentives, training, certification and enablement programs, has two tiers: authorised and premier. Companies are eligible to become an authorised partner if they are already an authorised networking reseller of Dell EMC or HPE and sign a Big Switch VAR agreement.

The vendor, which offers a range of software-defined driven data centre networking solutions, is looking to the channel as it experiences further growth, said Big Switch Networks Australia and New Zealand managing director Steve Coad.

“As our business is ramping up quickly, we are beginning to see more and more engagements with the channel community and needed a structured framework on how best to engage with the channel,” he said.

“The best way to do this was to launch the partner program that clearly identified the opportunities for partners and a structured framework for enabling and training these partners.”

Premier partners must first be authorised and meet additional requirements, including a number of partners sales and engineering employees certified on Big Switch Solutions, have hosted demo labs in partner environments and meet quarterly requirements for deal registrations. Premier partners meeting the requirements are eligible for rebates, marketing support and qualified leads.

“[Partners] will be able to differentiate themselves in the market by adding Big Switch’s innovative data centre network switching fabric, network monitoring and DMZ security solutions to its portfolio, and will also be able to drive incremental recurring revenue streams with subscription licensing models,” Coad added.

Brisbane-based IT consultancy Ikara Group managing partner Reuben Bennett said demand was increasing for open networking solutions in Australia, and Big Switch was bringing a differentiated set of networking solutions to the market.

“Increasingly customers are asking Ikara to deliver a managed outcome in complex measurement of user experience and data-driven compliance,” Bennett said.  

“Security, compliance and performance are technically inter-dependent at the monitoring level. Big Switch’s products sit in the nexus of compliance, security and performance, so for organisations like Ikara, products that represent multiple use cases are more likely to make a successful business case with customers.”

Big Switch’s product portfolio includes Big Monitoring Fabric, a network packet broker; Big Mon Inline, for software-based DMZ security service chaining; and Big Cloud Fabric, a data centre switching fabric optimised for OpenStack and several VMware workloads, including vSphere, NSX, vSAN, and vCloud, and container networking workloads, including Kubernetes, Mesosphere, and Docker.

Big Switch operates in Australia on the price list of Dell and HPE, with NewGen as its distributor for its Edgecore Switching products.

“Through Dell, HPE and NewGen we have had access to their SI and VAR community for the last two years in ANZ and we have been transacting through 8-10 partners so far,” Coad said.

“The new Big Switch channel partner program will give us the opportunity to have a formalised relationship directly with these VARs and SIs, whilst still allowing them to choose to procure through either Dell, HPE or NewGen.”

Coad was appointed as Big Switch’s ANZ managing director in March this year, joining from Aruba where he was the South Pacific managing director.