Internap Woos Cisco Partners

Internap is already working with Cisco to train the networking vendor's partners to sell and install a new managed firewall service it developed in conjunction with Cisco. Beyond targeting Cisco's 3,000 service provider partners, Internap's strategy is to train a variety of VARs and systems integrators to deliver a total solution in which partners wrap services around Internap's performance-based routing services, said Keao Caindec, executive director of alliance development at Internap, based here.

"We've developed a program to incent both Cisco's direct-sales force and our own to work with the channel by giving the direct-sales staff the same compensation for a channel sale," Caindec said. "This is a perfect opportunity for VARs with customers that want to migrate to voice-over-IP or VPN solutions, and it gives partners the ability to develop managed services on top of our offerings."

Internap's goal is to encourage service providers and VARs to co-develop solutions, Caindec said.

This is the basis of Internap's relationship with NEC BNS, a solution provider specializing in voice and data network integration services.

"Internap has a portal that is a great tool for our sales force and account reps," said Mike Rushing, national program manager at NEC BNS, Irving, Texas. "Of all the carrier paths the customer's application can take, the portal shows how Internap chooses a path among many carrier backbones for the best results."