Mar/Apr 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

virtual reality GTT Doubles Down on U.S. Channel, SD-WAN By Gerald Baldino Yet with such a large international presence, it’s easy to overlook the fact that one of the company’s biggest mar- kets is actually right here in the U.S. “We are focused on domestic growth as much as we are on in- ternational expansion,” said Robert Westervelt, GTT’s new senior vice president of channel sales for the Americas. “We play well in both are- nas, especially with SD-WAN.” GTT channel program is in good hands with Westervelt, a seasoned telecom veteran who brings more than 25 years of industry experi- ence to the table. Westervelt, who was appointed channel chief for the Americas in January, previously served as GTT’s vice president for channel sales in the East region. Now, he will focus on spearheading the company’s indirect sales efforts and developing critical relationship management strategies. GTT’s channel program has in- creased in size by more than fourfold since 2017 and will continue to expand this year under Westervelt’s steward- ship. Westervelt will oversee three teams of channel managers for the West, Central and East regions and is in the process of adding a fourth team, which will be targeting mid-market and enterprise accounts across the U.S. The company also is investing in dedicated marketing resources sup- porting the channel, appointing Mary Ann Chudina national programs man- ager for channel marketing. Chudina will be working closely with master agents and partners in the coming months to promote company wins, maximize returns from events and generate new opportunities. “It’s nice to have wins, but it’s also important to get the message out and show people what you won and why you won, to encourage partners to en- gage with us,” Westervelt explained. “We want to show partners that we can help them close deals, particularly with SD-WAN. We’re very excited to be working with Mary Ann.” As Westervelt explained, interest in SD-WAN is rapidly increasing. “When I first got to GTT, we were talking about SD-WAN but not see- ing much adoption,” Westervelt said. “Over the last eight to 10 months, we have seen a major uptick in interest, and more deals are starting to close. People are going from kicking tires to actually buying SD-WAN, and we are starting to feel the momentum in the marketplace. There are lots of differ- ent ways as to how we can succeed with SD-WAN in terms of the unique network assets, access options and capabilities that GTT’s SD-WAN solu- tion set offers.” Another important development for GTT in 2018 was the company’s acquisition of Access Point, a tier 1 global IP network and cloud services provider headquartered in Cary, N. C. GTT has acquired more than 30 com- panies during the last decade, but this acquisition has special implications for its channel program. The addition of Access Point provides many new partner relationships for GTT in the indirect channel, and it also reinforces GTT’s status as a cloud networking leader. Right now, GTT is in the pro- cess of integrating with Access Point and learning its unique approach to partner engagement. GTT also acquired Interoute, Cus- tom Connect and Accelerated Com- munications in 2018, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to expansion and development. o G TT Communications is a global telecom and internet powerhouse, with more than 600 points of presence and a service reach to more than 140 countries. GTT’s Robert Westervelt 58 Channel Vision | March - April, 2019