Partners Get New Network Performance Opportunity with Accedian

Targeting managed service providers (MSPs), cloud service providers, system integrators and solution providers, Accedian, a Montreal, Canada-based, end-to-end network and application performance visibility solution vendor, on Thursday introduced its global Skylight 4X Partner Program.

This is the first partner program for Accedian, in business since 2005.

“Our core business has always been network-performance assurance for service providers, or big carriers,” Sergio Bea, vice president, global enterprise and channel at Accedian, told us. “With the acquisition of Performance Vision late last year – that paired with our existing portfolio – it gave us a great entrance into the enterprise market, which we weren’t addressing.”

The company’s new portfolio targets network and application performance, or layer 2 through layer 7, and is built for the cloud.

“It’s very good for a hybrid architecture; it can be deployed as a 100 percent software solution and runs in virtual machines, if needed. So, as enterprises migrate to hybrid and public cloud – or any-size company going through digital transformation – we’re in the center of that process,” said Bea.

Sergio Bea

Sergio Bea

As far as Bea is concerned, pursuing the enterprise market requires an indirect sales channel, the driver for the Skylight 4X partner program. While Accedian worked with some partners prior to the launch of Skylight 4X , partner relationships were treated individually and with no framework.

Expecting to compete against existing companies and hoping to attract partners who already work with competing vendors, Bea said that he put together a partner program that is disruptive, hoping to make it one that potential partners will embrace.

Two elements that make the Skylight 4X partner program unique are flexibility and ease of doing business with Accedian, he said.

“I know that many companies say that, but we’ve put processes in place to make that a reality,” he said.

For example, a partner can join the program and within a week have access to all of the automated, online prerequisites to get on board. The flexibility piece is allowing partners to grow with Accedian at their own pace.

Upon sign-up, partners receive a minimum set of benefits with additional ones kicking in as partners increases their involvement with the company. For example, they get training credits that have to be used within six months of joining the program. Partners who use their credits get incremental discounts.

The 4X Partner Program has four tracks: 4X Champion MSP partners, 4X Champion (for resell partners), 4X Authorized, and referral partners. Program benefits include deal registration; market development funds (MDF) focused on lead generation; no-cost training and certification; one free lab license; and marketing tools and support.

Through the program, Accedian’s partners also will be able to resell the complete Accedian portfolio, capex or opex; however, those that sell via the subscription model get incremental benefits and discounts.

“We built a partner profit model to make sure that our partners make more money with us than with our competitors,” Bea said.

4X Champion MSPs, in particular, will benefit from the Accedian Skylight SNAP 4X Managed Service Creation methodology that enables an MSP to build profitable N/APM managed services in four weeks.

The SNAP methodology is for MSPs to get up and running quickly. It includes four workshops that are each one-half to a full day. Partners take the four workshops consecutively. Two of the sessions are in person, with Accedian going to the partner’s location. The other two – on go-to-market and pricing – can be taken remotely.

Just a couple of months ago, the vendor announced the Accedian application and network performance monitoring (A/NPM)-as-a-service (A/NPMaaS) offer, specifically designed for MSPs. At that time, Accedian referred to the new offer as the first component of its Skylight 4X partner program, which was still in the planning stages.

The A/NPMaaS allows MSPs to offer real-time visibility into their customer’s business-critical applications and the digital assets that support them, while resolving performance-degradation issues, the company said.

“The launch of Accedian’s partner program represents our commitment to further expansion into the enterprise market,” said Patrick Ostiguy, CEO of Accedian. “Building a strong partner program will be key to Accedian’s future ambitions and for it to continue to grow and scale.”