(pictured above: Extreme Networks’ Bob Gault on stage at the company’s Global Partner Summit in Orlando, Oct. 24.)

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EXTREME NETWORKS GLOBAL PARTNER SUMMIT — Extreme Networks on Tuesday unveiled a new unified partner program while executives asked partners to pursue more cross-sale and up-sale opportunities with the company and its expanded portfolio.

The announcements were made during this week’s Extreme’s Global Partner Summit in Orlando, Florida. With more than $1 billion in annual revenue, Extreme now has more than 6,000 partners, and more than 500 partners from 50 countries are attending the conference.

Bob Gault, Extreme’s chief revenue and services officer, said his company has more to offer the channel than both Cisco and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE). Extreme now is the third-largest end-to-end network vendor, with 30,000 customers in 80 countries, he said.

“Capturing new revenue streams will be a gold mine in 2018,” he said. “With the right vision, strategy, team, partners and execution, we can take this networking world by storm. We can do it — and that’s exactly what’s happening. Extreme is back and now is the time for us to take advantage of it.”

The unified partner program, which combines existing and acquired programs and technologies, is designed to expand the end-user value proposition for global channel partners, allowing them to make more money and differentiate themselves by “leveraging a broader portfolio of solutions to sell and deliver,” according to Extreme. It follows Extreme’s recent acquisitions of Zebra Technologies’ WLAN business, Avaya’s networking business and its intent to acquire Brocade Communications Systems’ data center networking business, which is expected to close by the end of this month.

Extreme’s goals for fiscal year 2018 include $1.1 billion in year-over-year revenue growth, including $488 million in the Americas, up from $327.3 million for 2017; $316 million in EMEA, up from $216.8 million; and $88 million in APJC (Asia Pacific, Japan and China), up from $54.1 million. The path to $1.1 billion includes cross-sell and up-sell, verticals, channels, services, cloud and software, Gault said.

“There is huge transformation, huge consolidation in the marketplace, and Extreme is right in the middle of it,” he said. “And as a partner, you’re right in the middle of it. It used to be that our portfolio was a bit of a challenge, but now we’re second to none in the industry. Market awareness used to be an issue … but look at all the new logos we have. We believe we’re driving disruptive change and we’re asking you to come along for the ride.”

In the new program, partners will be rewarded for their investments in software, access, campus and data center. By combining new and existing capabilities, Extreme said it is building on its channel-focused strategy of …

… driving partner and company growth while strengthening its go-to-market initiatives in new and existing verticals.

Extreme Networks’ Gordon Mackintosh

Gordon Mackintosh, Extreme’s senior director of worldwide partner program and sales business development, said if partners want to be more profitable over the next few years, Extreme “is the place to be.”

“There’s new technology to sell coming from the acquisitions,” he said. “We designed the new unified program in consultation with our partners by equipping them with leading solutions and incentives that make it rewarding to work with Extreme while helping them stay competitive within the market. Under our new unified program, we’re demonstrating our commitment to partner profitability and product innovation by helping our partners grow their businesses and expand their client bases.”

New and existing partners can take advantage of an enhanced partner profitability program, four new specialization programs to reward value and solution selling, and upfront discounts by partner level to improve ease of doing business, the company said. It also accepts existing certifications to ensure investment protection for partners.

Mackintosh also announed a new invitation-only Black Diamond partner level, which allows partners to set customized growth goals and incentives to further personalize the experience. It requires a $1 million commitment from partners, he said.

Also, an updated Ultimate Warrior Program provides incentives for partners looking to sell technologies across the portfolio and rewards top achievers with Black Diamond status.

Cleveland-based Chi Corp., a networking, storage, data security and virtualization integration provider, has been selling Extreme’s products for several years. John Thome Jr., its vice president, said the acquisitions have helped his company with the addition of WiNG Access Points technology and getting into the retail market, “and the (secure) fabric is also a very exciting new addition that we have a lot of interest in.”

“It opens up new markets that we can sell into, and gives us new features and functionality that we can offer our customers,” he said. “We won the Ultimate Warrior contest last year. You had sales goals that you had to reach in the different product categories and we were able to do it.”

Mexico-based RT4 has been an Avaya networking partner and is now becoming an Extreme partner. Dafne Meymar, its managing director, said the partnership will mean new customers for her company and opportunities to sell more VoIP and contact center offerings.

“Until Dec. 31, we are still buying from Avaya and all the support … but we’ll start with Extreme in January,” she said. “I think there are a lot of opportunities in the up-selling and cross-selling, and … in the wireless solutions because wireless solutions with Avaya were weak, and as far as I’ve heard from here, they have a very strong solution. Also, the Extreme network management application — we didn’t have that product so there will be an up-selling there.”