Enterasys Survey Says... One Quarter of Global Resellers Have Fired a Vendor in the Last Year

SALEM, N.H., May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterasys Networks, a Siemens Enterprise Communications Company, announced findings from a global survey of reseller partners on top channel trends, which found 25 percent of resellers have fired a vendor in the last 12 months. The survey of 170 global resellers revealed the leading challenges associated with vendors is the lack of leads produced (42.7 percent), competition in the channel (33.6 percent) and poor service and support (31.3 percent). Additionally, selling integrated solutions is the biggest trend in the channel for 2013 and the majority of respondents (74 percent) are looking into how BYOD fits into current business models and how to best work with vendors to implement this technology.

One way in which Enterasys is addressing the need for integrated solutions, is through the company's OneFabric Connect SDN, its ground-breaking software defined networking (SDN) offering which provides partners open interoperability with third party applications. This supports the solution sale, and creates an opportunity for partners to build new business models around application integration, which the survey revealed is important for the channel.

Key Findings:

Top Trends for 2013

• The top three channel trends for 2013 according to global resellers will be selling integrated solutions (60 percent), new business models (20 percent) and industry specialization (9 percent).
• Channel partners are looking to support BYOD (74 percent) and mobility (60 percent) by examining how these technologies fit with current business models.

Top Channel Challenges with Vendors

• In addition to a lack of leads, competition in the channel and poor service and support, channel partners find insufficient profitability or ROI (30 percent) and the lack of understanding as it relates to business partners (28 percent) as top challenges.
• Adding to the lack of trust experienced by the channel, poor service and support (36 percent) and unshared business goals or go-to market plans (27 percent) are cited as reasons for terminating a vendor relationship in the last 12 months.

Enterasys Partner Ecosystem

• Channel partners also commented on their engagement with Enterasys specifically. They responded that they feel Enterasys is interested in their overall success (88 percent), and ranked Enterasys highly in overall field engagement (83 percent). Overall, partners are extremely satisfied or satisfied with Enterasys as a partner (85 percent). 
• Seventy-nine percent of respondents ranked Enterasys' Global Technical Assistance Center (GTAC) excellent or good compared to other vendors and 70 percent believe Enterasys' ability to aid in successful BYOD deployments can be considered excellent or good.

Executive Perspectives

Bob Noel, Director Global Channel and Field Marketing, Enterasys Networks

"There's no denying that the IT channel is undergoing a fundamental shift driven by the entrance of new technologies and vendors must be ready to provide partners the necessary support and resources. The most successful vendors will deliver open and interoperable products, transparency and outstanding services and support on a consistent basis. Vendors will recognize the challenges faced by their channel partners and find ways to alleviate the pain points. These research findings validate Enterasys' ongoing commitment to delivering on each of these requirements and our ability to enable continued growth and success for our partners."  

Additional Resources

• Channel Survey Blog Post & Infographic
• Enterasys Partners webpage
• Enterasys Social Media Newsroom
• Connect with Enterasys via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+

About Enterasys Networks and Siemens Enterprise Communications
Siemens Enterprise Communications is a leading global provider of unified communications (UC) solutions and network infrastructure for enterprises of all sizes. Leveraging 160 years of experience, we deliver innovation and quality to the world's most successful companies, backed by a world-class services portfolio which includes international multi-vendor managed and outsourcing capabilities.

Our OpenScape communications solutions provide a seamless and efficient collaboration experience – on any device – which amplifies collective effort and dramatically improves business performance.

Together, our global team of UC experts and service professionals set the standards for a rich communications experience that empowers teams to deliver better results.

Siemens Enterprise Communications is a joint venture of The Gores Group and Siemens AG, and includes Enterasys Networks, a provider of network infrastructure and security solutions, creating a complementary and complete enterprise communications solutions portfolio.

For more information, please visit:

www.siemens-enterprise.com or www.enterasys.com

Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co. KG is a Trademark Licensee of Siemens AG.

Media Contacts:

Jason King 
Enterasys Networks 
+1 603 952 5151 
[email protected] 

Jennifer Grabowski 
Racepoint Group 
+1 617 624 3231 
[email protected]

SOURCE Enterasys Networks