Tely Labs Targets Enterprise, Channel With New Videoconferencing System

Tely Labs this week introduced telyHD Pro, the latest enterprise-focused videoconferencing system to emerge from the startup and one that, according to Tely Labs, underscores the company's transformation from a consumer-focused video vendor to a business-focused one.

The new release -- which is targeted at both the enterprise and SMB space -- will sell exclusively through Tely Labs' channel, another indicator that the Redwood City, Calif.-based vendor is serious about becoming a mainstay in the business world.

"The company has really changed its focus from being positioned toward consumers or very small office applications to more of an SMB or enterprise application," said Sreekanth Ravi, founder and CEO of Tely Labs, in an interview with CRN. "This announcement really has culminated in that shift being fulfilled."

[Related: Video Upstart Tely Labs Targets Cisco Umi Customers ]

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To accommodate this shift, and to push enterprise adoption of products like the new telyHD Pro, Tely Labs has turned to the channel. The company's telyPartner Program received a refresh earlier this year, including the addition of two higher-level partner distinctions -- Premium and Platinum -- which are now offered in addition to Tely Labs' Authorized, Silver and Gold partner levels.

Tely Labs, which said it works with roughly 45 resellers in the U.S. today, has also signed on new distributor partners, including PicturePhone, Ingram Micro and D&H Distributing. Tely Labs partners at the Authorized, Silver and Gold levels work exclusively with distributors, Tely Labs said, while Platinum and Premium partners buy directly from Tely Labs.

David Moss, vice president of global sales for Tely Labs, said he doesn't anticipate Tely Labs' channel to grow too significantly, at least for the time being, as Tely Labs would prefer, instead, to work with a more select, focused group of partners.

"We have a program in such a way that, even though we have distributors in the mix, we have to authorize the reseller channel. The reason is we don't want ... to flood the market with the product and allow everybody to sell it," Moss said. "Our goal is make sure that geographically we are covered with a couple resellers in every given market, and that those resellers can maintain significant margins."

Moss -- who has held executive roles at both Siemens and Tandberg, the videoconferencing company snapped up by Cisco -- said that while the size of Tely Labs' channel may not grow significantly, at least not yet, he does expect 100 percent of Tely Labs' sales to move through partners.

The benefit of working with Tely Labs, Moss said, is that it rounds out solution providers' portfolios, arming them with a videoconferencing system that not only appeals to larger enterprises, but to smaller- and mid-sized companies, as well. What's more, Tely Labs' new telyHD Pro helps companies extend videoconferencing capabilities to secondary or even tertiary conference rooms, Moss said, which means partners can find new sales opportunities within existing customer accounts.

Tely Labs referenced industry research that suggests there are still 20 million-plus secondary and tertiary conference rooms around the world that are there for partners' taking.

"We now give [solution providers] the ability to go into their existing base and sell to that customer where they would not have been able to sell to before," said Moss.

NEXT: The New TelyHD Pro

The new telyHD Pro is ideal for these secondary rooms, Tely Labs said, because it delivers enterprise-grade features, like support for industry-standard SIP, at a price that's more on par with an SMB-focused product. The telyHD Pro has a list price of $649.

"The reason we are so excited about [telyHD Pro] is that it has, what we believe to be, a universal appeal," said Tely Labs' Ravi.

Because telyHD Pro has built-in SIP support, it can integrate with other standards-based systems including Polycom, Cisco and LifeSize. The platform can also integrate with cloud-based videoconferencing services from Blue Jeans Networks.

In addition, telyHD Pro includes a one-year subscription to Tely Labs' telyCloud service. This, Tely Labs said, allows users to access other features that are "normally only available with a heavy investment in video networking equipment," like multipoint videoconferencing, firewall/NAT traversal, and content sharing and collaboration.

The new telyHD Pro will ship in early August, and includes one year of software updates, in addition to the telyCloud service. Tely Labs said all customers currently using telyHD Business Edition, Tely Labs' first business-focused offering, will be automatically transitioned to telyHD Pro for free.

PUBLISHED JULY 11, 2013