Technology & IT | Monday 26 January, 2015 12:08 am |

Aruba Networks, Inc. today announced that it is expanding its EMEA Aruba PartnerEdge Programme to better address the needs of small to mid-sized enterprises (SME) and the channel partners that serve them. With recently introduced 802.11ac products designed for the SME, a wide variety of new programmes, promotions and SME enablement support, as well as a focused SME competence centre in Cork, Irelands. The competency centre will focus on supporting partners to sell the Aruba Networks cloud-based central solution and Instant Access points which are easy to install and maintain and are an excellent fit for small to mid-sized enterprises.

The recently-announced 200 Series, a set of introductory-level dual radio APs that are ideal for medium density SME Wi-Fi environments and the 210 Series AP for high-performance requirements in medium density SME deployments, have further expanded the options for SMEs looking to upgrade to 802.11ac cost-effectively.

“The traction we’ve experienced with Aruba Instant, as well as the significant number of partners recruited over the last few months, indicates that Aruba solutions are quickly becoming the wireless infrastructure of choice for SMEs,” said Karl Soderlund, vice president, worldwide channels for Aruba Networks.

According to Osama AlHaj-Eisa, Channel Director, Middle East & Turkey at Aruba Networks, “Hundreds of partners are enjoying excellent growth with the Aruba SME portfolio and the demand for covering the market is increasing. With the centralized SME competence centre Aruba provides a single, consistent and easy to reach support centre for our existing and the new to be recruited partners. The competency centre caters for local language support via phone, email, online chat and other online services.”

According to the Dell’Oro Group estimates, the annual SME WLAN market opportunity could approach $1.3 billion in several years, as SMEs and distributed enterprises seek to upgrade both from small office/home office (SOHO) class devices as well as toward higher-performing 802.11ac devices. For context, just over half of today’s SME WLAN market is served by enterprise-class devices, presenting a large sales opportunity.

With its Aruba PartnerEdge Program as a foundation, Aruba is adding a dedicated SME website, online training, promotions and sales enablement support for the SME market to ensure that new partners can quickly ramp and develop solutions expertise. Each partner will go through a 90-day onboarding cycle that includes the following:

Aruba Partner portal access and Aruba Quotient mobile application
Dedicated support from an Inside Channel Account Manager and Inside Channel SE
Demo equipment offers
Targeted promotions to drive incremental business
Free sales specialist training and certifications
In addition, a number of promotions have been designed specifically for the SME channel. Aruba will offer SME customers a special, $50 Aruba Central introductory price, as well as a buy four get one free Instant AP promotion.

Aruba will work closely with its distribution partners across EMEA to recruit and onboard reseller partners. To support this targeted SME channel effort, Aruba has adapted its internal organisation, as well. A devoted SME channel team, based in Aruba’s Cork, Ireland office as well as in the Middle East, will focus on the SME channel particularly in the areas of partner recruitment, enablement and demand generation.