Silver Peak Deploys Global Partner Program for SD-WAN

Broadband any hybrid WAN vendor Silver Peak launched the latest iteration of its Global Partner Program this week, which focuses on helping partners to promote and sell the company’s software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) solutions.

The new program turns the spotlight on the company’s recently released Unity Edgeconnect SD-WAN solution. Silver Peak has since thrown its weight behind broadband solutions as a way for channel partners to sell a more cost-effective and simple means of communication over traditional MPLS networks.

“It’s an unprecedented opportunity for our partners to help their customers reduce the high cost and complexity of MPLS networking by deploying broadband,” said Bob Bruce, Silver Peak’s senior vice president of Worldwide Channel Sales, in an interview with The VAR Guy. “We’ve designed this program to address the exploding SD-WAN marketplace.”

Like many other channel programs, Silver Peak’s initiative will group resellers into three tiers, including Registered, Ascent and premium tier Summit partners. Along with tier-specific benefits such as marketing and sales support, resellers will have access to new online SD-WAN certification training and a certification program specifically for engineers.

In keeping with the mountaineering theme, resellers can access their partner benefits through the new Basecamp partner portal, with mobile access provided via a dedicated mobile application.

Silver Peak took its first step into the SD-WAN space with the release of Unity EdgeConnect in June, which builds on the company’s legacy WAN optimization and data replication business. The company also is actively working to make sure partners have an easy time learning and onboarding its SD-WAN solutions so they can begin to see faster return on investment from sales.

“Our goal is to make this a channel-ready product, such that our channel partners can take this product portfolio, use our partner portal, [and] use our tools that we’ve developed to become very much self-sufficient,” said Bruce.

Prior to launch, the program was tested through an independent research firm to determine the specific features partners wanted most, including subscription-based pricing for Unity EdgeConnect and online training. These elements were then incorporated into the program to best serve Silver Peak’s existing customers and attract newcomers to the SD-WAN space.

Silver Peak said partners are beginning to show increased interest in the broadband market, and the company believes its channel program will serve as kindling to drive even more customer interest in the service in the coming months.

“We are going to be the change agents of channel engagement in this marketplace,” said Bruce. We are committed to changing the way the channel deal with the vendor and the way the vendor deals through the channel to the enterprise. We’re really excited about what we’ve done.”