Stefan Compagnoni (Extreme Networks)
Networking vendor Extreme Networks has signed a new distribution agreement with Bluechip Infotech in an effort to expand its partner base beyond its traditional enterprise segment.
The deal aims to bring the vendor’s products to small- to medium-sized business (SMB) customers, focusing on products including its essential switching and wireless range managed from ExtremeCloud IQ.
Bluechip will have full access to the enterprise portfolio and will look to speed up the quote to sale cycles for channel partners.
“Extreme is an exciting addition to our vendor line up and we see a huge opportunity with our managed services providers and resellers to develop and grow a new market for Extreme,” said Bluechip Infotech sales director Ron Jarvis.
“Extreme has some great solutions that are well known in the enterprise that we are now able to bring into the SMB/SME space via our partners.”
Extreme Networks’ channel manager for Australia and New Zealand Stefan Compagnoni said the company saw “huge potential” in the SMB and managed services provider markets.
“With the continued success and growth Extreme has experienced with our ExtremeCloud IQ management platform, we are seeing increased demand from the SMB community and we are excited to partner with Bluechip to be part of our journey into this strategic market for Extreme Networks,” he added.
The new agreement coincides with Extreme Networks’ announcement that it will acquire Ipanema’s SD-WAN business for about US$73 million in cash.
The deal will give Extreme access to Ipanema’s cloud-managed SD-WAN platform, which is designed to deliver different workloads and applications securely across conventional wide-area networks and multi-cloud service providers, according to the company.
Bluechip Infotech will sit alongside Extreme Networks' other distributors for Australia, which include Arrow, Hills and Sektor.
