Mellanox to build its channel with new switch launch
End-to-end datacentre connectivity company, Mellanox, will be growing its global channel as part of its expansion plans, according to its worldwide Ethernet sales senior director, Amit Katz, and A/NZ regional sales manager, Sudarshan Ramachandran.
Katz indicated that the channel is key in the company’s growth plans, especially with the launch of its 25/100 Gigabit open Ethernet-based switch. Named Spectrum, this non-blocking 100G switch aims to provide throughput, latency, energy efficiency and scalability, to 25, 50 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet datacentre fabrics.
“This switch completes the end-to-end portfolio so today, servers and storage can be connected through these new speeds. There is a lot of demand for this and many OEMs are adopting it and building solutions with these types of speeds. It becomes a channel play right away,” he claimed.
Ramachandran said the company has been on the lookout for partners that are in the datacentre space and claims it will provide solutions that will make these partners differentiators in the market.
“Whether it’s the fitout of datacentres where we have optics, adapters and cables, or systems integrators in Cloud, where we can offer value around differentiating their solutions, we want to provide more efficiency in datacentres.
“So, the biggest growth opportunity for our Ethernet products is definitely through channel,” Ramachandran claimed.
Mellanox currently goes to market through Sapply, Transition Systems, and Avnet EM.
According to Ramachandran, having this channel approach provides Mellanox with scale as it proactively reaches new market segments instead of being reactive.
“We can show the channel how to win deals when everyone is competing for the same deals and we can take channel partners that are in a backwards seat in a particular deal to winning purely based on our differentiator.”
Katz added that the channel’s progression from box moving to adding value to solutions and offering a unique, integrated solution sees traditional vendors, especially those in the storage, server and networking space, being challenged.
“If you just move boxes, your business is going down not only in terms of volume, but also margins as well. As such, Mellanox will enable them to differentiate and come up with better solutions which are well integrated with a compelling price. For us, that is what’s driving the channel.”
Katz added that the media and entertainment, as well as oil and gas segments will benefit the most from these solutions as they consume more bandwidth than other verticals.
Mellanox also recently launched its partner program, Partner First, that rewards and enables its partners.
“We offer deal registrations, bundled pricing, education on areas that we play and don’t play in, enablement with partner certifications, and rewards depending on the amounts of business that they bring in,” Ramachandran said.
In building on its growth, the company also plans to scale out and hire for channel sales and telco business development roles within the A/NZ region.
“Storage is going to be a significant growth engine for us – it’s reaching levels Cloud has. And we see rapid growth for it here in the Asia-Pacific region. This presents a great opportunity for us to grow,” Katz added.
