Playbook Volume 10 - ChannelVision Magazine

At MicroCorp’s One on One partner event, SD-WAN took center stage. Service providers and partners alike discussed SD-WAN as if it was a new network requirement for every business. If that is indeed the case, why haven’t quote proposals reflect- ed that? What’s missing is a line item on every network connectivity quote for options such as SD-WAN, man- aged routers or 4G backup. That simple line item on a propos- al can act as a prompt some partners may need to begin a discussion with clients. It wouldn’t be a stretch for Comcast to start using 4G backup as a default bundle for businesses using its cable modem business and voice lines. Since providers are beating the drum for SD-WAN, they should do what they can in little ways to make some of those functions the standard. To expand on that, SD-WAN is a collection of functions from WAN opti- mization to failover to bandwidth moni- toring and more. The more common functions such as failover should just become the default for broadband. It is a benefit for the business buyer, and it will increase ARPU for the pro- vider (and the partner’s commission). There are so many opportuni- ties today. Office365 is just one example of a service that most partners are ignoring. Sure, there are many providers for Office365, but there are only a few that pay a recurring commission on the licenses. That is low-hanging fruit, since Micro- soft is positioning this product for a slam dunk for businesses and their trusted advisors. Cloud is still an important topic, but it is becoming an all-encompass- ing term for any computing platform. There are so many different flavors of cloud – private, public, VPS, host- ing and colocation. Yes, colocation is still an opportunity because some applications can’t easily port to an Intel-based computing environment and some software is so proprietary or mission-critical that the business Identifying Opportunity L ooking over my last several quotes, they come across as very austere. These recent quotes look similar to how they did a few years ago. You know what is missing? Options. Often it comes down to simply asking better questions By Peter Radizeski 22 THE CHANNEL MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK