By Cara Sievers

Telx, which provides interconnectivity solutions through more than a dozen colocation facilities,  launched a new channel program to sell colocation services, cabinets and custom cages, power, interconnection and cross-connection services, remote hands technical support, data backup services and IP-related services.

The program, which officially launched June 5, currently has more than 20 signed partners, and the company is looking to add more.

Kirk Horton, vice president channels and partners, who joined Telx in January to grow the partner initiative from the ground up, explained that the program has three engagement models: Referral Partners (Standard and Broker), Agent Partners and Alliance Partners.

The Standard Referral Program pays partners on a monthly annuity schedule based upon a percentage of the MRC for the term of the deal. The Broker Referral program is designed for commercial real estate firms. Telx pays a one-time upfront commission based on a percentage of the term contract value for the physical floor space component of the deal.

The Agent Partner Program provides partners with marketing, training, pricing, sales and sales engineering support, and they receive a “lucrative” monthly commission for the term of the initial sale as well as a commission for selling new services into the account. Telx also pays commissions on the renewal of the client contract.

“This is a very strategic program for Telx and the commission structure varies based on the company size, sales target, etc.,” explained Horton, saying that the Agent Partner Program was proving to be the most popular and fastest-growing track. Agent partners must complete a training schedule for participation.

And finally, the Alliance Partner Program, which can involve referral or resale, typically is customized on a deal-by-deal basis. Typical Alliance Partner Program members include technology firms, software companies, hardware companies and managed service providers that combine their solutions with the Telx suite of services. These companies may be OEMs of Telx and vice versa.

Telx is looking to add VARs, consulting firms, system integrators, distributors and more to its referral and agent programs. “We look for companies that have a strong aptitude for selling and marketing colocation, interconnection and IP services,” said Horton.

“As Telx looks to expand our market penetration into the enterprise, Web 2.0 and financial services space, the company felt strongly that a channel model would provide an effective way to increase client acquisition and drive revenues,” said Horton. “We expect the program to be highly effective and a major contributor to our future growth of our company.”

Support for partners includes technical support resources, marketing and sales support with an online portal and collateral and press release development.