Extreme Networks is on a roll in 2023.

The Morrisville, N.C.-based networking specialist last week announced its fiscal 2023 Q2 earnings in which Extreme posted revenue of $318.35 million for the quarter that ended December 31, up 13 percent compared to year-ago revenues. The company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) ARR continued its climb, reaching $115 million, up an impressive 29 percent year-over-year. Extreme President and CEO Ed Meyercord revealed that the company was so confident in end user demand that it raised its FY23 revenue growth outlook. He expects the momentum to only continue into Extreme’s FY24, especially as the supply chain environment improves.

Meyercord has attributed the company’s success in part to being what he refers to as the “right size company to work with.” That feature gives Extreme the space to innovate on its focused, cloud-first networking portfolio, while giving partners and end customers the attention and resources they need to grow their businesses and solve problems.

At the mid-point of its fiscal 2023, Extreme has been busy investing in its differentiated cloud networking platform and Universal Hardware to provide choice and simplicity for customers. The focus is paying off: Extreme and its partners are increasingly winning when up against its competition -- some of the largest networking players in the industry, including Cisco Systems.

Meyercord sat down with CRN post-Q2 2023 earnings to talk about the company’s investments and growth, the “loosening” backlog, and a new managed services platform partners can expect in the second half of the company’s 2023. Here are excerpts from the conversation.