Big Switch Extends Big Channel Program Into New Geographies

Big Switch Networks is expanding its channel program in an effort to extend the reach of its software-defined networking (SDN) products into new geographic areas.

Interest in SDN and open networking is growing, and expanding the channel program will help Big Switch reach more enterprise and carrier customers, according to Big Switch CEO Douglas Murray. Big Switch's Big Channel Program will now include new distribution partners in the U.K., Brazil, Australia and Canada.

"We are seeing so much customer demand and interest in bare metal switches and SDN. As this is happening in specific geographies, it's really helpful to align ourselves with a local partner that can work with the customer in that region," Murray said.

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Actar, a Brazil-based systems integrator and IT consulting firm is joining the Big Channel Program as a distribution partner alongside U.K.-based Mayflex, Ontario-based Layer8 Solutions, and NewGen, based in Australia.

Approximately 50 percent of Actar’s large enterprise customers are interested in SDN, but there is still resistance in trying any technology not already widely adopted by the market, said Gustavo Mitt, director of technology for Actar.

Using Big Switch products, Actar expects its customers will be able to reduce total cost of ownership thanks to increased agility. The Big Channel Partner Program also will increase the proximity of the products to customers, Mitt said. "The Partner program helps getting prospects to know the technology early in the game, and having a local professional service [provider] also helps in terms of reducing support worries," he said.

Big Switch offers two main SDN products: Big Cloud Fabric and Big Tap Monitoring Fabric. The Big Cloud Fabric offering combines SDN software and bare metal Ethernet switches to save customers money on their hyperscale data center deployments. Big Tap Monitoring Fabric helps teams monitor their networks to ensure performance, security and compliance. Both products are available to channel partners, according to the company.

The Big Channel Program was first announced earlier this year. So far, the program has resulted in a 150 percent increase in partner deal registrations -- momentum that Big Switch wants to keep encouraging, the company said.

"Our plan as we scale the company is to make sure that we have an effective partner community that can help us, because there are obviously a lot more partners out there in the ecosystem than we could ever build, even if we hired sales reps constantly," Murray said.

Through Big Channel Program, Big Switch is helping partners get trained and educated on their products, Murray said. This ensures that partners have a competitive advantage over their competition, including partners selling other flavors of SDN, like Cisco solutions. ’We continue to refine and build out more attributes of the program as our partners tell us what they need," he said.

Big Switch also plans to release an online partner portal soon that will allow providers to handle registrations.

PUBLISHED JULY 23, 2015