Power To The Channel: Allot Serves Up New Partner Program

Through its new Empowered Partner Network (EPN) effort, Allot pledges to provide partners with enhanced lead generation, expanded sales and technical training, co-marketing, advertising and a new 30-day free evaluation option that partners can provide to new customers, said Larry Schmidt, vice president of channel sales at the Minneapolis-based company.

"Partners are now beginning to realize that Allot is gaining some significant momentum in the marketplace, and we want to put in place a program that supports them," Schmidt said.

Allot isn't stopping there, he said. The company also is working to add a deal-registration element to its program that would reward partners with deeper discounts for prospecting new business.

Through the free evaluation option, solution providers can install Allot's NetEnforcer and NetReality bandwidth management appliances, then let customers live with the solution for a month before they decide whether to buy. Such a strategy often results in sales, said Darrell Seaba, president of Goldfield Telecom, a solution provider in Goldfield, Iowa.

"Until they actually see it on the network and see what's going on in their network, it's pretty tough for them to understand what the product can do," Seaba said, noting that 75 percent to 80 percent of his customers who evaluate the traffic management appliances go on to purchase them.

It's after partners install the appliance that the real revenue opportunity begins, said PG Narayanan, Allot's CEO. That's because partners can then help customers act on the network performance data the appliances collect.

"The revenue opportunity is the interpretation of the output. They're going to see a lot of information come back [about] the network," Narayanan said.

EPN features Platinum and Silver partner tiers, based on a partner's size, revenue projections and level of certification. The company expects most of its 100 U.S. partners to qualify.

Allot is looking to beef up its channel efforts as the next stage of the company's growth, Narayanan said, noting that the vendor posted 85 percent growth last year. He would not disclose revenue for the privately held company.

The program comes about two months after Allot hired Schmidt, a former executive vice president with solution provider Norstan, to head up its North American channel development.