Omada By TP-Link Is Providing MSPs ‘Double-Digit’ Margins On SMB Networking Products Without Mandatory Cloud Licensing Fees: VP Channels Curtiz Gangi

Omada By TP-Link Vice President of Channels Curtiz Gangi says that Omada by TP-Link is filling a “being present gap” in the networking market for MSPs.

The Omada by TP-Link networking product portfolio designed for MSPs is disrupting the status quo with “double-digit” margins without mandatory recurring-revenue cloud license fees, said Omada By TP-Link Vice President of Channels Curtiz Gangi.

“Not having a mandatory per unit, recurring revenue cloud licensing fee is key at a time when everything is impacting partner margins,” said Gangi in an interview with CRN debuting the new channel-only Omada by TP-Link solutions and channel program at the recent XChange 2026 conference in National Harbor, Md. “Our aim is to provide partners with double digit margins.”

By eliminating mandatory licensing fees, which have become part and parcel of some competitors’ network offerings, Omada By TP-Link has set up a channel model that allows MSPs to “build a true” networking practice where they are in “control of the cost” to their customers, said Gangi. “What that means is they are not tied to the vendor for the cost and the pricing structure that they set up for their business,” he said. “We’re not trying to shrink their margins. We’re trying to expand their margins.”

Among the products that do not carry that mandatory recurring revenue cloud license fee is the Omada Fusion 2.5 Gigabyte PoE (Power over Ethernet) gateway which provides enterprise grade performance as a gateway and controller with support for both Omada by TP-Link networking and VIGA by TP-Link surveillance products.

“We have bolstered up our networking portfolio with L2 ++ (Layer 2 networking), L3 and campus switching with the right PoE (Power over Ethernet) capabilities to provide enterprise and mid-enterprise market functionality,” said Gangi. “We also have provided partners a single pane of glass management platform with Omada Central.”

Omada by TP-Link’s SolutionX partner program is also providing deal registration price protection even as competitors are repricing gear upon shipment in the midst of rising memory prices and limited supply, said Gangi. Those rising prices have taken a big toll on partner SMB networking margins.

Omada by TP-Link is investing to become a leader in the MSP market with a channel program, policies and product line tailored to deliver double-digit margins for partners, said Gangi, who was ranked as No. 11 on CRN’s Disrupters list in the annual Top 100 executives ranking.

“This is a disruptive moment for MSPs looking for a true long-term SMB midmarket networking partner,” said Gangi. “Our products are easy to use, accessible, flexible for the MSP business model and they scale quickly from SMB to midmarket enterprise.”

Omada By TP-Link is allowing MSPs to “build their own business and pricing for networking as a service and intelligent surveillance,” said Gangi. “We have strong innovative products and offer free Omada Certified Network Administrator (OCNA) and VIGI Certified Security Administrator (VCSA) training. We want them to get familiar with the technology, use the technology and build a business around it.”

The launch of the Omada by TP-Link at XChange 2026 was widely embraced with the company becoming a finalist in the XChange Excellence In Go-To-Market Strategy category.

Gangi stressed that Omada by TP-Link is squarely focused on the SMB and midmarket. “The largest companies in this market with all due respect have moved upstream in their focus,” he said. “What partners are telling us is that they want a vendor that is committed to them and will support their business.”

Gangi said that Omada by TP-Link is filling a “being present gap” in the networking market for MSPs. “We’re delivering affordable technology for our channel partners so they can feel comfortable building a networking-as-a-service business with the freedom to create their own business models,” he said. “We want to make sure it’s simple, easy and they are supported. It all comes from listening to what partners are going through on a day-to-day basis.”

Below is an edited excerpt from CRN’s conversation with Gangi.

How big a commitment is TP-Link making in the channel?

The commitment is quite simple: we have made an intentional decision to build the right products and the right program so partners feel comfortable selling our products. We want to build long-standing partner for life relationships with MSPs.

Our intention is to be their long-term partner. The name Omada means team. I want our channel partners to feel like they are part of the Omada by TP-Link team. It is a great company with fantastic people that are committed to building the best and most innovative technology in our industry. It starts with telling the Omada by TP-Link story and making partners feel comfortable.

This is a disruptive moment for MSPs looking for a true long-term SMB-midmarket networking partner. Our products are easy to use, accessible, flexible for the MSP business model and they scale quickly from SMB to midmarket enterprise.

What do you see as the biggest day-to-day breakthrough channel policy differentiator?

Not having a mandatory per unit, recurring revenue cloud licensing fee is key at a time when everything is impacting partner margins. Our aim is to provide partners with double-digit margins.

What we are doing is allowing partners to build a true networking or surveillance practice where they are in control of the cost to their customers. What that means is they are not tied to the vendor for the cost and the pricing structure that they set up for their business. We’re not trying to shrink their margins. We’re trying to expand their margins.

Let me be clear if they want more features and management tools we have them as well with different costs. It all depends on the partner and what they want to deliver to their customer.

What is the impact on the customer by eliminating the mandatory cloud licensing fees on networking gear?

It can lower the total cost of ownership average by 50 percent over a three-to-five-year period on our networking and surveillance products.

We are not locking partners or customers into that mandatory licensing fee that ends up eating away at partner margins and making networking and surveillance products less affordable for customers. This opens the door for MSPs to build their own network-as-a-service business model.

We are also delivering no-cost certification to our networking and surveillance partners. We want to create an industry of Omada and VIGA experts that can build their own business model.

What kind of feedback are you getting from partners on the impact memory price increases are having on networking products?

It’s very impactful to partners. It’s very disruptive that this is happening because they are in the midst of doing network designs, engineering and creating proposals for customers that are constantly changing because they are not getting deal registration price protection when it comes down to components.

How dramatically different is the TP-Link channel strategy and go-to-market versus competitors in the market?

The largest competitors in this market with all due respect have moved upstream in their focus. What partners are telling us is that they want a vendor that is committed to them and will support their business.

Also, networking partners are telling us that they don’t have the flexibility to create their own price and margin for the customer. Some of these vendors are taking distribution completely out of the mix, which I don’t think is fair and equitable to the channel.

That is going to be something in my opinion that those vendors are going to look back upon down the road and regret it.

What has been the response from MSPs here at XChange?

The response has been overwhelming with 90 percent of MSPs in our boardrooms signing up as partners. It’s been gratifying to see all the hard work of the team pay off with such a strong positive response from MSPs.

We’ve gone to great lengths to get partners comfortable with the products. We have given away $30,000 of demo products at XChange to get partners to test and use our networking and surveillance solutions.

We’re planning a road show in big cities where we’ll also have demo products! We want partners to leave with our products and solutions and know who their salesperson is, who their marketing person is and who their engineer is from our team.

What is going to be the ultimate economic impact of TP-Link for partners?

I think the impact is going to be at the partner level where partners will see their profitability will get to a point where they are in high double-digits in this category.

That is what I see with our revamped SolutionX Partner Program with upfront discounts, deal registration and not having mandatory licensing on the products they sell. That is going to result in high double-digit margins for partners in this market that they haven’t seen in a while.

What is going to be the impact on partners’ ability to build a long-term networking business?

I have known some of the partners here for years. I’m not teaching them how to build a business. What I am giving them are the tools to go back to reconstruct that networking business to be more profitable. They are already selling networking as a service. What we are trying to do is to make sure they are doing it with a long-term view with good technologies and innovative solutions so they can future proof their customer’s infrastructures.

What are the big advantages TP-Link is bringing to partners under the Omada networking and VIGI intelligent surveillance solutions brands?

We are allowing MSPs to build their own business and pricing for the networking-as-a-service business and intelligent surveillance business. We have strong innovative products without mandatory licensing fees. We have free Omada Certified Network Administrator (OCNA) and VIGI Certified Security Administrator (CSA) training. We want them to get familiar with the technology, use the technology and build a business around it. We have strong innovative products and we are not bogging partners down with mandatory licensing fees!

What’s the message for partners as you launch the new product set and the channel program?

The message to MSPs is we have a great business offering for partners to build their go-to-market around networking and Wi-Fi and surveillance.

We have no mandatory license fees. We are allowing our partners to build their MSP practice around networking without having the burden of margin degradation.

We’re giving partners free training, free certification, free support, five-year warranties. This is what partners are looking for from a networking vendor.

We’ve built an entire U.S. team over the last six months from inside salespeople to sales engineering to field sales business development reps that can help partners go win! It’s as simple as that.

What is TP-Link doing to innovate with its networking and intelligent surveillance products?

Take a look at the portfolio: We have bolstered up our networking portfolio with L2 ++ (Layer 2 networking), L3 and campus switching with the right PoE (Power over Ethernet) capabilities to provide enterprise and mid-enterprise market functionality. We also have provided partners a single pane of glass management platform with Omada Central

We have L3 switching coming out, which is campus grade.

One of the killer things we have done for SMB is created an all-in-one gateway, which is our Omada Fusion 2.5G (2.5 Gigabit Ethernet) and soon Fusion Pro 2.5G. That product can manage both our surveillance and networking products. We have never had that before.

Omada Central, with a single pane of glass view, no mandatory licensing fees and we are adding surveillance into the mix so MSPs can bring surveillance security into their product fold.

How do you feel about the partner and market opportunity?

It feels pretty cool because this is a mainstay technology. We want to deliver networking with an always-on mindset at a very affordable cost not only for the partner so they can build a business on this but also for their customers.

Do you feel the bigger vendors in the SMB and midmarket networking space have taken partners for granted?

What we see is a “being present gap” in the channel. Partners don’t know who to go to for help and they no longer have pride in the networking vendors they are working with. One of the reasons for that being present gap is all of the acquisitions that have taken place in this segment of the market.

We’re delivering affordable technology for our channel partners so they can feel comfortable building a networking-as-a-service business with the freedom to create their own business models. We want to make sure it’s simple, easy and they are supported. It all comes from listening to what partners are going through on a day-to-day basis.