Blue Coat Gives Partners Assessment Capabilities Via Cloud

Application delivery networking vendor Blue Coat Systems is arming its solution provider partners with the ability to perform network assessments for customers and prospective customers via the cloud. Here’s how.

The Blue Coat Assessment Service uses a Blue Coat PacketShaper appliance, which the partner can install on the customer’s network for a set time and then gather information about the company’s WAN and Internet usage and traffic patterns.

All the analysis is done in the cloud, so customer networks are not impacted by the service. Following the analysis, the partner receives a report including color graphs and other useful content that the partner can augment with its own insights and brand with its own logo and contact information, according to Blue Coat.

Not only a useful sales tool for prospective customers, the assessment also can be used as an annual service for existing customers to help keep their networks running at peak efficiency. The service will be available to partners starting mid-August, and is part of Blue Coat’s “Blue Box” evaluation program to provide PacketShaper appliances on a trial basis to qualified customers, the company said.

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