ChannelVision Magazine

Eighteen months ago, for instance, SimpleWAN launched managed Wi-Fi, said Knight. “That is our number one selling product. We are an SD WAN company, but managed Wi-Fi is the lead-in for a good portion of our sales. Same goes with cybersecurity and PCI. Those lead-ins are what people are looking for.” Knight also relayed the story of a call from a single-location business owner who wanted to talk SD-WAN. “They don’t have a WAN; they have an internet connec- tion and wanted better availability out of it.” Here SD-WAN is almost a type of amped-up internet service. “The sale becomes: put in one box to replace five boxes, and that box is a service delivery center,” said Knight. “So whatever the next thing a cus- tomer may need, it’s a service and not a rip and replace; it’s a checked box in the system.” IT in the House Before any SD-WAN conversation starts, however, Knight strongly recom- mends making sure IT is represented on the initial call. Unlike the days of dropping off a circuit or pipe, “with SD- WAN, you are taking over instructions of the LAN, Wi-Fi, devices, security,” he said. “This is where IT lives. If you do not bring in the IT people on the initial call, they will fight you every step of the way.” Even if the company own- er is on board, IT might see SD-WAN as a threat, warned Knight, and must be made to understand how SD-WAN actually helps them. “IT people think they like complexity, but complex- ity is that phone call at 10 o’clock on a Friday night,” he said. Just because IT is in the room, however, don’t assume prospects have a full understanding of what SD-WAN is and can be. This is a mar- ketplace that is still very much forming and still requires plenty of education and evangelizing, so salespeople who can position themselves as “the expert in the room” stand to benefit the most. “The winning partner is the educated partner,” said Knight. “This is a very consultative sale.” From tracking internet searches on SD-WAN, for example, SimpleWAN virtual reality Primary Network Challenges Facing IT Organizations Bandwidth costs 42% Equipment maintenance and updates 39% Performance between locations 38% Managing the network 35% Performance in the cloud 25% Providing and managing secure mobile/remote access 23% Last-mile availability 21% Finding and retaining skilled networking personnel 19% Time to deploy new locations 17% Source: Cato Networks Channel Vision | March - April, 2018 32