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Unison Prepares Unified Communications Partner Program
Unison Communications -- which develops unified communications software on Centos, Ubuntu and Red Hat Linux -- is preparing to launch a partner program within the next few weeks, The VAR Guy learned during VoiceCon. Here are the early details.
The VAR Guy
April 2, 2009
2 Min Read
Unison Communications — which develops unified communications software on Centos, Ubuntu and Red Hat Linux — is preparing to launch a partner program within the next few weeks, The VAR Guy learned during VoiceCon. Here are the early details.
According to chatter at the VoiceCon trade show in Orlando, Unison has already attracted roughly 150 channel partners. But a formalized partner program should launch around April or perhaps May. One company watcher says Unison hopes to scale the program to as many as 1,000 VARs and solutions providers within a year or so. Managed service providers and hosting companies also will be central to the effort, since Unison’s software can be delivered as a hosted service.
Once launched, the Unison partner program will be plugged into a Salesforce.com. Although details are still sketchy, The VAR Guy thinks partners will be able to use the Salesforce.com to register deals and receive sales leads. Unison, which has offices in New York, intends to have no direct sales initiatives.
Unison has caught The VAR Guy’s attention for several reasons, including:
Competitive Position: Unison positions its unified communications platform as a free or low-cost alternative to Microsoft Unified Communications.
Free vs. Paid: Unison has both free and paid versions. The free version includes an advertising component — though it’s a bit too early to say whether businesses will accept advertising information on their unified communication systems.
Platforms: Unison made one obvious bet (supporting Red Hat Enterprise Linux) and one less obvious bet (supporting Ubuntu Server Edition). Sure, Ubuntu is deployed on roughly 10 million desktops. But Ubuntu’s primary backer, Canonical, is working hard to gain more traction on servers.
Meanwhile, the overall unified communications market appears relatively strong. Turn-out at VoiceCon was stronger than The VAR Guy expected. Lots of activity on the trade show floor. The VAR Guy is glad he made the trip.
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