Juniper to share services spoils

Juniper Networks wants to triple its business in the enterprise market over the next few years and has promised to ensure partners get their share of increased services revenues.

Speaking to CRN at Juniper’s Asia-Pacific partner summit in Bangkok, the company’s world-wide VP of channels Frank Vitagliano said that vendors often don't communicate properly with their partners on the services side, resulting in lost opportunities and at times, ill will.

“Across the board you have to set a standard for the rules of engagement.”

Vitagliano only joined Juniper earlier this year after nearly 30 years
looking after channels for IBM and says that he would try to ensure Juniper didn't make that company's mistake of alienating partners from services accounts.

"There are partners out there that a very frustrated because they are constantly banging heads with other partners for services business or they're running into the vendors themselves."

Crucial to being competitive in the enterprise market, Vitagliano continued was ensuring that vendors and partners talk to each other. "You should never have partners guessing what you're doing."

It has taken Juniper only 10 years to become a $US2 billion company.

Around a third of its business is in the enterprise market but it hopes to triple this over the next few years.

Vitagliano says that while the company would need to make some adjustments to it channel on the way towards this goal, overall things are running smoothly.

"We are being very careful not to fix things that aren't broken."

Managing new partners that have come on board as part of acquisitions or those representing Juniper's joint venture partners such as Avaya and Oracle has required some work however.

Juniper now has 2200 partners in Asia Pacific, more than 1000 of which came from the company's purchase of NetScreen Networks in 2004.

This, along with several other acquisitions worldwide presented a number of challenges for Juniper, especially with regard to properly training and assimilating its new partners.

"The most challenging part was integrating the various programs."

"The challenge becomes 'How do we go to market together?'"

Kuala Lumpur-based reseller Nera turns over around .5 million ringit a year with Juniper, most of which is services and maintenance.

Company sales manager Hairani Hamid said that she expects to see that figure increase as it increases business in the enterprise space.

Overall she said that unlike last year's Juniper Summit, 2006 delivered a very clear message to the company's partners, especially with regard to its plans for the enterprise. "This year has been a lot more focused than last year."

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