NetScaler Unleashes NetConnect

With the update, NetScaler for the first time will classify its partners through a multitiered program with varying discount levels, said Arif Razvi, director of worldwide channels at the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company.

The new NetConnect program includes three tiers distinguished by partners' NetScaler product sales volumes and technical expertise: Authorized, for small regional partners with less than $250,000 in sales; Gold, for regional or national partners with up to $500,000 in sales; and Platinum, for national partners with up to $1 million in sales.

The program also includes a Master Distributor designation for national partners willing to make a $1 million sales commitment. NetConnect margins start at 28 percent.

By moving to a tiered channel strategy, NetScaler can now reward partners that add value rather than just push boxes, said Jim Murphy, regional director at Nexl Network Systems, a solution provider in Peabody, Mass. "With the level of resources we internally dedicate to a company, we'd like to see that paid back in some way," Murphy said.

Since the beginning of the year, NetScaler has increased its number of active channel partners to 50 from 10, Razvi said.

The company this week also plans to fill out the low end of its product portfolio with the launch of its Secure Application Accelerator line of entry-level traffic management solutions.