ADTRAN has announced its ProCloud program for VARs looking to expand beyond hardware-only solution portfolios to add a managed service provider (MSP) aspect to their business.
ADTRAN ProCloud includes a turnkey model as well as a partner-branded option to launch cloud-managed services (which come with a recurring revenue compensation profile). Managed Wi-Fi for instance is being used by VARs to target the small to medium business (SMB) and enterprise markets, as well as in education, stadiums, retail and other entities as they deal with the impact of users bringing their own devices onto networks. ADTRAN’s VAR partners will be able to layer additional, industry-specific services on top of the managed Wi-Fi service to generate additional value and revenue. Services like security and content filtering have been of particular interest.
Valley Business Solutions (VBS) is one VAR using ADTRAN’s ProCloud Wi-Fi to eliminate large up-front capital investments for customers while reducing the ovverhead of the daily management of new Wi-Fi equipment. “ADTRAN’s introduction of ProCloud Wi-Fi got us thinking differently about our business and who our customers could be. It created a real opportunity as this offering is applicable to any company, of any size,” said Alex Dizon, general manager at Valley Business Solutions. “Now, managed Wi-Fi is the fastest-growing segment of our business. We can now address more types and sizes of businesses while expanding our customer base into new geographical territories. The reality is, we win when we bid ADTRAN ProCloud.”
VBS has chosen to use ADTRAN’s private-label option to deliver its own branded managed service while leveraging ADTRAN’s hosted infrastructure and back-end support. This eliminates the need to train and certify additional technical staff and frees VBS to focus on customer acquisition, installation and service. It also reduces startup infrastructure costs and service turn-up time when compared to traditional Wi-Fi deployments.
“With the explosion of mobility and related network applications, demands on enterprise networks continue to intensify,” said Nolan Greene, research analyst for IDC’s Network Infrastructure Group. Simultaneously, SMBs, schools, universities and other distributed enterprises are increasingly challenged to provision, troubleshoot and maintain more sophisticated wireless networks with reduced IT staffs. These organizations are looking to offload some of this burden, presenting a tremendous opportunity for VARs. VARs are a trusted member of the IT community, and a comprehensive cloud-managed services platform enables them to easily expand into new markets, build upon strong existing customer relationships and transform their business models and revenue potential.”
