Linksys Mirrors Cisco With New Partner Program

The program is slated to be unveiled Wednesday at Linksys' Connected Office Day launch event in San Francisco, where the company also is rolling out new small-business products.

The updated Linksys Partner Connection Program is part of the vendor's broader effort to focus on the small-business market and the solution providers that serve it, said Nigel Williams, vice president of worldwide channels at Linksys, Irvine, Calif.

"It's time for Linksys to upgrade its channel program. The solutions we now offer are inherently a bit more complicated, and they require a higher degree of training from our channel community to sell them," he said.

Now that Linksys has a stable of small-business solution building blocks -- including wired and wireless networking, premise-based and hosted VoIP, storage and security -- the company is taking cues from Cisco on how to encourage partners to make the necessary investments, Williams said.

"We have to protect and reward our partners' investments -- the way Cisco does -- to sell a complete solution," he said.

Linksys and Cisco are also working to build more integration between their channel programs to persuade partners to carry both lines.

"We know Cisco partners are carrying traditional value brands, so the objective has to be to make Cisco/Linksys their preferred brand to go into the SMB market," Williams said.

Scott Holcomb, CEO at Holcomb Enterprises, a Mission Viejo, Calif., said there's plenty of room for selling both brands. "But for the most part, customers are diehard Cisco or diehard Linksys," he noted. However, Linksys hubs, switches and routers fit "a nice little niche" in remote and branch office space, he said.

Under the restructured global channel program, Linksys partners will now have the option to focus on building small-business solutions and to select technology specializations on which to build solutions practices.

Due to launch in August, the new tiered program includes an entry level for Registered partners that offers access to unrestricted Linksys products through distribution at 30 percent discounts.

The next step up is the new Business Elite partner level, designed for solution providers that take foundational training and certification that covers the vendor's switching, Linksys One hosted VoIP and low-end NAS products. Partners are also required to staff one trained and certified sales engineer and one account manager per geographic region. In return, partners receive discounts of up to 34 percent and have access to promotions, marketing development funds, demo programs and end-user evaluation programs.

Business Elite partners have the option of pursuing any of three new technology specializations around Linksys One, high-end NAS and Voice, which covers the vendor's Linksys Voice System (LVS) product line. Specializations are required for partners to sell those product lines. Linksys One partners also need to establish a relationship with one of the vendor's hosted VoIP service provider partners.

Partners receive up to 37percent discounts on products associated with their specialization, up to 34 percent discounts on other product lines and increased marketing support.

Paul Brian, president of Interworks, a Jackson, Tenn.-based solution provider that sells Linksys NAS products, expects the addition of technology specializations to provide much-needed price protection.

"Anytime a vendor comes up with an additional method for partners to benefit is good for the channel," he said.

Linksys will work with its parent company to move some Cisco-certified partners into the new Business Elite program, offering fast-track training where necessary to get them up to speed, Williams said.

The two vendors will also be collaborating on a trade-up program that will allow customers to get something out of their Linksys investments as they grow and move up into Cisco product lines, he added.

"Our partners can start to position value protection as a benefit," Williams said. "If you go with Linksys and your needs change and you need to go with Cisco, we can transition you."