Swan's Channel Program Takes Flight

To help counter the impact of jitter and latency on Web application and WAN performance, Swan's NetCelera appliances tackle what the company has dubbed "enterprise application shaping," a solution that combines WAN optimization and application acceleration technologies, said Tom Tansy, vice president of marketing at Swan, San Jose, Calif.

"The customer gets a LAN-like experience accessing applications over the WAN," Tansy said.

NetCelera's WAN optimization technology can be critical during an emergency when customers try to recover all of their data as quickly as possible, said Richard Goldstein, CEO of Trancus Industries, a Tarrytown, N.Y.-based solution provider that specializes in disaster recovery and business continuity.

"When it's an emergency, it's like an anaconda trying to swallow a cow," Goldstein said.

Swan's goal is to sell entirely through the channel, though the company "reserves the right" to sell directly to customers that demand it, Tansy said. "So far, by and large, they do prefer to be serviced by a channel partner," he said.

The company's new program offers solution providers discounts of up to 50 percent depending on their designation within the program and their level of commitment, said John Lloyd, director of channel development at Swan.

In particular, Swan is seeking partners that can incorporate its technology into broader solutions in the areas of disaster recovery, enterprise integration/portals, enterprise applications, networked storage, remote access and VoIP, Lloyd said.

Swan's new channel program is somewhat customizable, enabling partners to commit to options such as meeting volume requirements and providing first- or second-level support services in exchange for higher discount or commission levels.

It features four partner categories: Regional Partner and Global/National Partner, which offer discounts ranging up to 40 percent and 50 percent, respectively, as well as System Integrator Partner and Referral Partner, two commission-based categories for partners that influence or service deals but don't actually take title of product. Commissions range from 5 percent to 15 percent, Lloyd said.

The company currently works with about a dozen solution providers and expects to have at least 60 partners signed up by the end of July as it closes out its fiscal year, Lloyd said.

Swan, which was founded early last year and first began shipping product in August, is the latest WAN optimization vendor to make a play for solution provider mindshare in hopes that the channel will help it stake a claim to a market that research firm IDC puts at $292 million this year.

Rival Peribit Networks entered the channel fray with the launch of its first channel program in May, while market leader Packeteer in August bolstered its partner efforts with new certification and deal-registration programs.