https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Complete 2023 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2023 MSP 501 50-1
    • 2023 MSP 501 100-51
    • 2023 MSP 501 150-101
    • 2023 MSP 501 200-151
    • 2023 MSP 501 250-201
    • 2023 MSP 501 300-251
    • 2023 MSP 501 350-301
    • 2023 MSP 501 400-351
    • 2023 MSP 501 450-401
    • 2023 MSP 501 501-451
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2023 MSP 501
    • 2023 NextGen 101
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2024 CP Expo Call for Speakers
    • Channel Futures Leadership Summit
    • MSP Summit
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Complete 2023 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2023 MSP 501 50-1
    • 2023 MSP 501 100-51
    • 2023 MSP 501 150-101
    • 2023 MSP 501 200-151
    • 2023 MSP 501 250-201
    • 2023 MSP 501 300-251
    • 2023 MSP 501 350-301
    • 2023 MSP 501 400-351
    • 2023 MSP 501 450-401
    • 2023 MSP 501 501-451
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2023 MSP 501
    • 2023 NextGen 101
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2024 CP Expo Call for Speakers
    • Channel Futures Leadership Summit
    • MSP Summit
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

SDN/SD-WAN


Shutterstock

Sign post with option A and option B

Aruba Delays Silver Peak Channel Integration, Emphasizes Partner Choice

  • Written by James Anderson
  • May 14, 2021
Sixty percent of Silver Peak partners were selling Aruba before last year's acquisition.

Aruba Networks channel executives are taking a patient approach to onboarding the Silver Peak partner program.

HPE acquired Silver Peak last year with the intention of bringing it into Aruba. Last month at Aruba Atmosphere, Aruba executives unveiled the integration of Silver Peak’s portfolio into the Aruba Edge Services Platform.

Jim Harold, Aruba’s vice president of North American channels, said the company initially kept the partner programs separate in order to protect Silver Peak Partners who had invested in the Silver Peak program.. He said Aruba took the same approach when HPE bought Aruba in 2015.

Aruba’s Jim Harold

“We went through a similar motion, and it really kept the partners whole and relaxed — confident that they weren’t coming into a scenario where all the big platinum partners would take over the world,” Harold said.

For now, the plan is to keep the programs separate through the end of Aruba’s fiscal year, which ends Oct. 31.

“Right now, for any partner that wants to sell Silver Peak, we have them selling in the Silver Peak program, and we’ve got a host of trainings and certifications that are all set to go. And we’ve had great success with them,” Harold said.

We recently compiled a list of 20 top SD-WAN providers offering products and services via channel partners.

He added that more than 100 Aruba partners have signed up to sell Silver Peak since the acquisition.

At some point, however, some form of program integration will occur.

Aruba’s Donna Grothjan

“Right now we’re taking a look at when’s the right point to do the integration,” said Donna Grothjan, Aruba’s vice president of worldwide channels. “It will ultimately it will be under the Partner Ready for Networking umbrella.”

Aruba has established two key changes for Silver Peak partner program members for now. First, they aligned the Silver Peak revenue thresholds to match Aruba’s. Second, they extended Silver Peak partner certifications to two years, once again matching Aruba’s.

“We’re trying to assimilate first so that there isn’t this wholesale change for the partners,” Grothjan said.

Key Differences?

Grothjan said she and her team have sought to discern the key differences and similarities between legacy Aruba and Silver Peak partners.  Though Aruba has delivered software-defined branch (SD-branch) solutions for a long time, the software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) market that Silver Peak plays very well in carries different implications.

However, Grothjan concluded after her research that Aruba and Silver Peak partners don’t hold particularly vast differences. Indeed, approximately 60% of Silver Peak’s partners already worked with Aruba; thus, Aruba needed to work more to give partners additional choice.

“There is not a lot of change or a big shift or heavy lift of any kind for the partners. It’s really about the opportunity to understand the Edge Services Platform and how that’s a broader selling value proposition for them, because they can extend with single customers into more solutions and more offerings with their network,” Grothjan said.

3 Options

Grothjan said Aruba is stressing partner choice within its own program. The Aruba Partner Ready program divides into three different business models. Each category leverages the Aruba Central network management and monitoring solution, but a different party takes charge of Central in different categories.

First, GreenLake for Aruba provides an Aruba-branded resell model. Here Aruba does the monitoring using Central and takes action.

“The role of the partner remains the same,” Grothjan said. “They’re doing all of the assessment, they’re selling the solution to the customer, and they’re doing the integration. But if the customer’s looking for somebody to manage their network for them, obviously the partner has the choice to do that, but we’ll do that under the managed-connectivity-as-a-service model.”

Second, the Partner Ready for MSP model allows partners to build their own managed services practice. Partners will uses their own network operations center (NOC) and will use Central to manage their clients’ environments. Central includes a managed services dashboard for them and wireframes that allow them to showcase their capabilities.

In addition, Partner Ready for MSP uses subscription-based financing, which MSPs requested. Partners had the opportunity to take a leasing option, but Grothjan said they didn’t want to make as large of a capital investment.

“They want to be able to offer their customers the hardware, the software and any of their own services wrapped up into an as-a-service package,” she said.

Harold said Aruba has recruited several “pure-play” MSPs that focus 100% on managed services.

“Their feedback is, ‘You guys got it right.’ They may not have been happy with their other vendor, based on a couple things in our program that really hit the mark for them,” he said.

Each partner category can take advantage of HPE Financial Services (HPEFS) and offer professional services to customers.

Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email James Anderson or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Tags: MSPs VARs/SIs Channel Chatter Channel Convergence IoT Mergers and Acquisitions New/Changing Channel Programs Sales & Marketing SDN/SD-WAN Technologies

Most Recent


  • Cisco acquisition of Splunk gets partner reaction
    Partners Hope Splunk Keeps 'Pace of Innovation' in Cisco Acquisition
    All will be well if Cisco integrates Splunk the way it integrated Meraki, a partner told Channel Futures.
  • Broadcom-VMware and China
    Broadcom-VMware Hits Snag in China as IT Incurs Too-High Cloud Costs
    Our latest cloud news roundup features an acquisition update, looks at research you need to know, and more.
  • cloud marketplaces
    Haven’t Drunk the Cloud Marketplaces Kool-Aid? It’s About Time You Did
    The Ultimate Partner's Vince Menzione explains why channel partners (small ones, too) need to get on board.
  • Watching reality TV
    The Channel on Reality TV: Tech Advisor Shares Experience on Startup Show
    Going on a show for entrepreneurs showed how the technology advisor channel is one of the business world's "biggest secrets."

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Cloud security
    VMware Debuts Cloud Web Security on SASE Platform
  • zero trust security
    Leveraging Partner Expertise to Build a Zero-Trust Strategy
  • Twenty, 20, SD-WAN providers
    The CF List: 20 Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Providers You Should Know
  • Security shield on digital background
    VMware Security Connect Focused on Redefining Security, Increasing Threats

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

March 11, 2024 - March 14, 2024

Channel Futures Leadership Summit 2024

September 17, 2024 - September 19, 2024

Galleries

View all

Broadcom-VMware Hits Snag in China as IT Incurs Too-High Cloud Costs

September 22, 2023

Cisco’s Splunk Acquisition ‘True Bombshell Move,’ Will Have Massive Impact on Cybersecurity

September 21, 2023

Cisco SMB Business Gets Updated Sales Coverage Model, New Investments

September 21, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

Why Conversational AI Matters for Your Customers and How It Can Boost Your Revenue

September 15, 2023

The 5 Ds that Lead to Unplanned Business Sales

September 13, 2023

Hot Generative AI Market Must ‘Cool Down’

August 28, 2023

Webinars

View all

MSP 501: Leadership in Cybersecurity

October 19, 2023

DE&I: Find the Balance that Works for You

September 7, 2023

Above and Beyond with the NextGen 101ers

August 30, 2023

White Papers

View all

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them

February 1, 2023

Frost Radar: North American UCaaS Market, 2022

February 1, 2023

The Complete Guide to White-Label UCaaS for Reseller Success

February 1, 2023

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 129: ZLH Enterprises

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 128: Channel Partner Strategies Intelligence Service

August 25, 2023

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 127: Expereo, Movie Night Returns

August 18, 2023

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 126: ARG

July 28, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X