Brocade Network Subscription: Monthly Pricing for Partners

Brocade is trying to engage channel partners and service providers that prefer monthly recurring revenue (MRR) pricing models and cloud services pricing models. At VMworld 2011, Brocade this week will reveal a new network subscription model for Brocade partners, and its newest wave of Cloudplex solutions. Brocade VP of Global Channels Barbara Spicek and Brocade Solutions Marketing Group Senior Manager Robert Grasby briefed me ahead of this week’s announcements. Here’s the strategy.

Brocade Network Subscription is a new model that allows Brocade partners to acquire cloud-optimized network infrastructure on a monthly subscription basis. Grasby emphasized that it’s not a lease model, but a monthly commitment with no long-term pressure for partners or their customers. “They [Brocade partners] can expand it, refresh it, or return it at any time,” he said. The model is available for Brocade IP/Ethernet solutions, including the BrocadeVDX family of products.

Brocade “There are no capital restraints on MSPs,” Grasby added. “So they can bring new solutions to market more quickly and with business agility, capital flexibility and reduced risk.” Brocade will be offering the new model through Brocade Alliance Partner Network Elite resellers, Federal partners, and global systems integrators.

Ethernet Upgrade

Brocade is also building upon its Cloudplex architecture, which the company revealed at Brocade Technology Day in early May 2011. “We talked about our vision for Cloudplex on tech day,” Spicek said. “Now we are coming out with a whole set of cloud solutions.” The solutions include the next wave of Brocade fabric switches.

Additionally, Brocade has announced a partnership with Avnet Technology Solutions. The two companies will develop marketing and enablement support for new multivendor, pre-tested and configured virtualization solutions to help Brocade’s North American resellers deploy scalable virtualization solutions. Spicek said that in the next month, Avnet will release its own offerings based on CloudPlex.