Avaya is already seen as the lead dog in the race to buy Nortel Networks' struggling Enterprise Solutions business, and the communications company is pulling Nortel channel partners into its fold with the promise of incentives.
According to Carol Giles Neslund, Avaya's North American channels vice president, Avaya has brought 19 Nortel partners into its program, 17 in the U.S. and two in Canada. Of those, seven are among Nortel's 10 largest partners.
Avaya won't comment on rumors that it is looking to buy Nortel's Enterprise Solutions group for a reported $500 million as the Canadian former telecom giant looks to unload its business units to the highest bidders in a move to pull itself out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
But Nortel has been on Avaya's radar screen for a while now, Giles Neslund said, noting that bringing aboard Nortel partners looking for an alternative IP telephony vendor is a key priority and central to Avaya's recruitment strategy.
Giles Neslund said Avaya is offering incentives to Nortel partners that migrate to Avaya. Avaya, she said, wants to help offset the massive investment required to partner with a new vendor.
"It's difficult for a partner to invest in a new technology partner and to get up and running," she said. "We're trying to help mitigate those costs. It's a big investment to add a new product portfolio."
Giles Neslund said Avaya is offering Nortel partners that sign up by July 31 an extra 5 percent rebate on the back end on Avaya deals, 2 percent of which will go directly to marketing funds with the remaining 3 percent acting as a rebate.
Avaya has also vowed to fast-track Nortel partners with training, sales, marketing and services support to get them into the game quickly. Giles Neslund said Nortel partners will also have opportunities for additional discounts to further defray the extra costs. Those incentives will remain in place until May 2010.
"We've been very aggressively recruiting in this space," Giles Neslund said, adding that Avaya is looking to "get out there and get market share."
Giles Neslund added that Avaya is not looking for recruits to eliminate their Nortel practices altogether. Instead, she said, Avaya will be seen as a complementary product line and help Nortel partners focus on new business development efforts.
Giles Neslund said added incentives for Nortel partners is just another step in Avaya's grand plan to help see partners through the economic storm.
"Things seemed to have eased up a little bit this quarter," she said. "Deals that were pushed back are now going through. I think our partners are breathing a little bit easier this quarter. They're not holding their breath anymore, but there's no sign of relief yet."
According to Giles Neslund, the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company is also helping existing partners target their installed base of customers, offering discounts on existing platforms that add Avaya's new Aura unified communications solutions.
Avaya is also extending zero percent financing for 26 to 60 months to help partners free up cash. At the same time, Avaya is pumping up partners' lead generation and marketing efforts, increasing its reimbursement match and building additional offerings to help partners design marketing plans.
All of these steps, Giles Neslund said, lead to Avaya launching its global channel program in late September or early October, a comprehensive program that will help North American partners engage with partners internationally.
"We're really focused on partners leveraging their installed based and focusing on cash flow and from there we'll help them get into new customers," she said.
