Verizon To Offer Incentives For VAR, Linksys Partnerships

Verizon Business plans to provide incentives to VARs that partner with Linksys to sell hosted VoIP services under the Linksys One program, the telecom carrier confirmed.

Details of the VAR incentives are still being worked out, and the Linksys One and Verizon channel teams are working together to avoid conflict, a spokesperson for Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Verizon said.

The strategy behind Linksys One—a partnership formed between Linksys and MCI before Verizon acquired MCI—calls for VARs to sell Linksys hardware bundled with hosted VoIP services from carriers such as MCI. Because the involvement of a tier-one carrier provided nationwide coverage, Verizon’s commitment to Linksys One eased the fears of some VARs that the carrier was not planning to continue with the program.

But despite Verizon’s commitment, some partners are still worried that the program is in jeopardy. Sources told CRN that ongoing chaos related to the Verizon-MCI merger could delay the fall rollout of Linksys One.

“Verizon is not really interested in developing Linksys One—they’re letting MCI handle that—but MCI won’t be able to continue to develop it at the pace they were prior to the merger until they shake out some of the channels,” said a Linksys One partner who requested anonymity.

Verizon’s traditional focus on the residential and large enterprise markets could lead to confusion over where—and if—the solution fits into the carrier’s strategy, the source said, adding that “Linksys One has been designed from the ground up for the SMB market, and that’s exactly the area that Verizon has not been involved in.”

Nigel Williams, vice president of channel and service provider operations at Linksys, said Verizon has shown the same level of interest as MCI had in supporting Linksys One. “We’ve had great support from the MCI team in the transition, and from a technical and go-to-market standpoint, we are very confident in the support from Verizon,” he said.

Another Linksys One partner said the success of Linksys One will be determined not by Verizon providing incentives to partners, but by Linksys’ ability to engage VARs to stick with them during the initiation period. “Linksys needs to make the VARs’ commitment smooth with a true sense of partnership, and I don’t think they are there yet,” the source said.