Talari Launches WAN Optimization Partner Program

The prevalence of wide-area networks has made network optimization by way of MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) a $16 billion industry. Talari Networks has been taking a bite out of that market since late 2009 with their Adaptive Private Network (APN) solution, which provides MPLS-like functionality over the public Internet. And with the launch of Talari’s partner program last week, resellers potentially can too. Here’s how.

Talari Networks was founded in 2006 by current CEO Andy Gottlieb to “develop technology to allow companies to leverage the public Internet for enterprise networks,” saving money on infrastructure needs while providing the same four-nines reliability, says Tom Pettigrew, VP of Global Sales for Talari Networks. The first “Mercury” APN appliance was ready for the market in the Fall of 2009, he says.

Their solution hinges on combining data streams, becoming to the corporate networks what RAID is to hard drives, Talari’s website claims. By combining data streams from multiple sources, they say the public Internet can provide the fast recovery and high reliability the market demands.

Pettigrew himself only started at Talari in November 2009, but he’s no stranger to the channel. He was a VAR in the late eighties, and over the span of the last 13 years or so, Pettigrew’s kept busy putting together F5 Networks‘ reseller program and enhancing storage solution provider Isilon‘s OEM and partner offerings.

Now at Talari, Pettigrew sees the launch of the partner program as an inevitable step in getting APN solutions to market. Their reseller base is “starting small,” Pettigrew says, but they are looking to add more partners as their ability to properly support them grows.

Specifically, Talari is looking for the kind of VAR who may already be selling WAN optimization products and isn’t afraid to take an entrepreneurial leap into reselling a relatively untested but potentially lucrative product in a market niche with no other competitors, Pettigrew says. Besides, he says, there’s no reason a reseller can’t provide MPLS and APN solutions side-by-side.

There’s no doubt about Talari Networks’ devotion to the channel, especially since their entire business model hinges around selling VARs on the concept of an alternative to the entrenched MPLS standard. As is always the case with startups, though, the question is: have they really created a new market? Or are they providing a service that no one wants? And, as always, only time will tell.