Peribit Networks Enters U.S. Channel Fray

Through the new program, which already includes almost 50 partners, the company will offer product discounts, training, co-marketing, joint sales calls, lead generation and sales tools to help solution providers sell its Sequence Reducer product family, said Brad Mandell, vice president of sales at Peribit, Santa Clara, Calif.

The appliances improve WAN performance by prioritizing traffic, reducing repetitive data patterns and speeding application-response times. As a result, customers can hold off on circuit and hardware upgrades, often seeing a return on their investment within several months, solution providers said.

"For an awful lot of customers, their first instinct is to buy more bandwidth. They don't even know there are ways to get more out of what they already have," said Andy Segal, president of Vandis, a solution provider based in Albertson, N.Y.

Peribit also plans to develop a quarterly business plan with each partner to devise joint marketing plans, map out training, identify potential customers and plan sales activities, Mandell said.

To help support its partners, the company has added three dedicated U.S. channel teams and implemented a channel-neutral sales compensation policy that encourages its sales reps to work with partners, Mandell said.

"By definition, [the sales reps] can't make their numbers or cover their territory if they try to do it themselves," he said.

Peribit is counting on solution providers to help it continue to grow, Mandell said. Founded in 2000, Peribit now has more than 500 customers, including more than 200 added in the past six months. The company plans to go public next year.

For now, the U.S. channel program will include two partner designations, Gold and Silver, mostly based on the number of sales and technical employees solution providers commit. Gold and Silver partners will source products direct from Peribit, Mandell said.

Gold and Silver partners are also eligible to pursue Peribit's Advanced Support Center (ASC) authorization, which qualifies them to provide first- and second-level technical support in their region. Partners that achieve ASC status receive additional discounts and top priority for inclusion in multinational deals and lead distribution.

An entry-level Premier category will be added once Peribit signs up U.S. distribution partners, planned for 2006.