Enterasys Launches Rebate Program

From Oct. 6 to March 31, 2003, Enterasys is offering its Elite and Certified partners an additional 10 percent discount on the final negotiated price of any of its hardware or software products sold to customers that haven't purchased any Enterasys gear within the past two years, said Derek Slayton, director of channel marketing at the Portsmouth-based vendor. The discount is applied at the time of procurement rather than paid as a back-end rebate, he said.

Solution providers are required to register the new customer opportunities on a dedicated Web page. Once the customer has been cleared as new, no other solution provider can receive the 10 percent discount on products sold to that customer, Slayton said.

What's more, Enterasys will provide the 10 percent discount on any follow-up orders from those new customers for an additional six months, said John Erdman, vice president of global channel operations at Enterasys. The extra six-month period is designed to take enterprise purchasing habits into account, since most enterprise customers test out a new vendor with a small purchase and follow it up with a larger order, Erdman said.

Steve Thorpe, president of Adaptive Communications, a Portsmouth-based networking solution provider, said the program will help his firm land new business. "The initial purchase isn't necessarily going to be the largest," Thorpe said. "We often use Enterasys' Dragon intrusion-detection system as a way to get our foot in the door. Once the customer sees the service they get from us and Enterasys, they order more."

Erdman said the new rebate program is designed to build momentum for Enterasys, whose business has struggled. "We have stabilized our business, and we're winning new customers," he said. "We want to continue that momentum and reward our partners that bring in new business."

Enterasys, which has been undergoing a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation as well as an internal financial audit, late last month projected revenue of $120 million for its third quarter ended Sept. 28. The company said it expects to complete the financial review this month and restate results for the 10-month period ended Dec. 29, 2001, and the fiscal year ended March 3, 2001, with the restated results containing "significant adjustments."