Playbook Volume 10 - ChannelVision Magazine

see the forest through the trees, sug- gested Jeff Burchett, co-founder of Big- leaf Networks, is to take a “cloud-first” or “application-first” approach. Much how IP telephony became a platform for the consumption and deliv- ery of all types of communications ser- vices way beyond office “phone calls,” SD-WAN promises to provide reliable- enough access to the applications, employees and devices that reside “out in the cloud” or well beyond the direct links to data centers and other con- nected locations. “Applications don’t live at head- quarters anymore but live in the cloud,” said Burchett, while presenting at Tech+Connect. “So the question be- comes, what is the strategy to make sure you can get to those applica- tions? Because at the end of the day, the cloud is only as good as your con- nection to it.” Within this positioning, “SD-WAN is about ensuring the applications work the way they are supposed to, while giving employees the experience they need relative to the most important tools they need to do their jobs,” con- tinued Burchett. Cloud-first conversations, he said, often start with the very same prob- lems and services agents already are discussing with customers and prospects. “Talk about UCaaS,” said Burchett. “Talk about contact center in the cloud, about desktop-as-a-service. Talk about Office365, Salesforce, health records in the cloud – all the things that if your customers aren’t using now, they will be in the future. It’s incumbent on you guys, the telecom experts, to understand how we are going to build networks relative to these applications.” Consider a customer with a problem, said Burchett. “It’s a bad VoIP deploy- ment; it’s an issue with desktop-as-a- service or messy video conferencing, or it’s something that is not working the way they want it to. Come to us and we’ll roll up our sleeves.” SD-WAN is often positioned with VoIP failover, for instance, “but what are the other failovers your customers need?” asked Burchett. Ultimately, SD-WAN can be sold right alongside familiar business appli- cations, say its proponents. “It’s part of everything done in terms of cloud, SaaS, anything that your customer is moving out to the internet that is part of their business,” explained Burchett. And that’s when the pitch becomes something along the lines of, “I usually don’t even sell UCaaS or DRaaS without providing an SD-WAN from brand ABC.” “The cloud is too important to sell without SD-WAN,” said Burchett. Indeed, more than three-quarters of IT pros surveyed for Cato connected a successful SD-WAN deployment to improved internet/cloud performance. All the while, customers tend to look to buy products and things not “technolo- gy,” added Knight. “They are productized” he said. “They need managed Wi-Fi or managed firewall or are looking at cyber- security. They are looking for a product, so you have to productize this – figure out what is the most important thing.” Acquire leads, drive visitors to your sites and social media, convert buyers with ChannelVision’s email marketing platform. Performance stats are available. P LUS B RONZE S ILVER G OLD P LATINUM ADDITIONAL BEKA SERVICES CHANNEL VISION EMAIL BLAST WITH PROVEN 33,000+ ROI RATES 3 Blasts $700ea $2,100 6 Blasts $500ea $3,000 12 Blasts $350ea $4,200 24 Blasts $300ea $7,200 52 Blasts $225ea $11,700 P LUS P LATINUM G OLD S ILVER B RONZE channelvision@bekapublishing.com 480-503-0770 Flip Book & Digital > ChannelVision Magazine / Print, > Webinars > Lead Gen > Blogs / Content Writing > Company Profiles / Q&A > Sponsorships: Newsletters, Playbooks & Digital Books > CVx Shows > VSA Awards > Online Banners > White Papers > Show Dailies & Show Guides (WISPA & INCOMPAS) > CV-TV 32 THE CHANNEL MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK