Equinix in Aussie channel push

Global datacentre provider Equinix is set to unveil a series of new partner programs designed to drive growth in the Australian market.

According to Eric Hui, director of cloud, IT and enterprise at Equinix Asia Pacific, the fully-incentivised partner programs are broken down into three groups.

“The three groups equate to what I refer to as the buyer’s journey,” Hui told CRN. “The three groups we are recruiting are tech partners, consulting partners and solution partners.”

Customers looking for a tech partner will be looking for someone that can provide hardware and software platform components deliverable inside an Equinix environment, Hui said.

The second group, the consulting partners, are aimed at customers looking for thought leadership in terms of what IT functions they should be integrating, and how to go about that integration.

Solution partners, said Hui, are partners capable of providing end-to-end design and implementation for tech solutions. “These are solutions customers can take advantage of immediately.”

Hui added the sort of customers seeking solutions partners are looking at running an operational expense (opex) model through Equinix data centre services.

“[These customers] recognise and take advantage of cloud technology, [but] they do not have the time or budget to do it themselves, so they turn to our solution partners to assist them.”

Hui would not be drawn on the channel  sweeteners being offered, aside from noting they will be made up of incentives, commissions and percentages. “We also anticipate there is incentive for tech partners because they will be able to make a sale.”

Existing technology partners, he said, included Amazon Web Services and NetApp.

Hui said Equinix has already recruited seed partners within the three partner groups, and said the company is actively recruiting more through outreach programs such as webinars, as well as by directly approaching potential partners in the market.

“We also bring the potential partners to us,” he said. “We do site tours of our datacentres, and potential partners are often impressed by the richness of the offering.”

Equinix operates  in 31 markets, with 95 datacentres globally.