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Extreme Networks arming partners with more flexibility
Supplier uses its Connect event to flag a couple of major product releases and underline the importance of the channel in delivering them to customers
Extreme Networks has been holding its Connect event this week, and has flagged the major product announcements for the potential impact they will have on partners.
In a move that should make life easier for partners and please customers, the firm added five applications to its ExtremeCloud IQ Pilot subscription service for free, to give more tools to help users with network visibility and management.
Over the next 90 days, the additional content will be made available to partners and customers, and the firm is also rolling out an app from the start of next month to make it quicker and easier to scan a barcode or serial number and onboard new devices.
The other main announcement was around the launch of the Universal Platform, which will give customers the chance to choose the OS that sits in their infrastructure. The supplier is starting with its ExtremeSwitching 5520 Series in November, and ExteremeWireless AP300C and AP400C products from January 2021.
Nabil Bukhari, chief technology officer and chief product officer of Extreme Networks, said that the product launches would give its channel the opportunity to get in front of customers and offer solutions that offered more depth and flexibility.
“These product updates clearly benefit customers, but also our partners,” he said. “Together, we are at the frontline of promoting and sharing the value of Extreme’s customer experience, as we work to push technology boundaries by leveraging machine learning, artificial intelligence, analytics and automation in our end-to-end cloud-driven networking solutions.
“By boosting the product portfolio, redefining our value proposition and offering universal platforms, we are able to expand the depth of solutions available to customers,” said Bukhari. “This has substantially deepened our partners’ ability to offer greater value, enhancing their relationships with customers.”
Key role
He added that its channel would play a key role in determining the success of the latest releases.
“Our channel partners have always been central to our business model, and we now have over 4,300 partners in EMEA and over 400 of these are within the UK,” said Bukhari.
“Given they are at the frontline of promoting and sharing the value of Extreme’s customer experience, we have been laser-focused over the past 12 months on three key areas: simplification, profitability and recognition,” he said.
“Part of this is arming all our partners with solutions which are ready for the future so that they can give customers best-of-breed technology. This has been crucial as 90% of our business is undertaken through the channel.”
Extreme has been adding some depth to its cloud and edge network capabilities ever since it sealed the acquisition of Aerohive last summer.
Aerohive was one of the first suppliers to offer controller-less Wi-Fi and cloud network management, as well as launch Wi-Fi 6 access points, which are one of the main features of the Extreme Retail Select solution.
