The SD-WAN opportunity: how resellers can reap the rewards

There’s been plenty of hype around SD-WAN and for good reason. But how much do you really know about it? As a reseller, do you have the know-how to recognise an opportunity and then position a solution that resonates with the customer?

It’s crucial that channel partners ensure that SD-WAN is more than just hype and that it delivers tangible business outcomes that add value to day-to-day operations. So, let’s start with some of the conversations you might be having with your customers around their IT challenges:

• ‘I want to have more visibility into my network’
• ‘I need my WAN to be more agile and deliver services when I need them’
• ‘I need to be able to onboard and offboard sites quickly and seamlessly’

Do you recognise any of these demands from your end user customers? If so, SD-WAN technology could be the answer.

This technology gives total visibility and control over a network and provides capabilities to roll-out changes across all devices at the same time, increasing flexibility and agility. It can also enable remote site connection over 4G, getting sites up and running fast. These are just a few of the benefits of SD-WAN – there are many more – which come together to make it a compelling solution to support your customers’ digital transformation strategies.

So what’s in it for partners?

By offering a comprehensive SD-WAN solution, resellers can add real value and build long-term strategic relationships with their customers. As customer acquisition becomes increasingly aggressive in the channel, nurturing existing relationships has never been more important.

SD-WAN offers recurring revenue opportunities through its annuity-based licensing model making your customers ‘stickier’ and preventing the competition breaking into key accounts. If you can’t offer a comprehensive solution – someone else will, leaving your accounts vulnerable.

What’s more, there’s a lack of knowledge and internal skills around SD-WAN, and as networks evolve and grow in complexity your customers will require ongoing consultancy and management, providing another revenue avenue to branch into.

All of this means that partners have a real opportunity to guide customers through the transition to SD-WAN, cutting through the breadth of vendor choice to find a solution that meets their needs then deploying and managing a solution roll-out.

The winning formula

Ultimately, resellers need to ensure they are fully prepared to deliver, implement and support SD-WAN for customers in order to reap the rewards. The first step is recognising a compelling use case and then engaging a strategic service partner who can fill gaps in your portfolio and provide specialist expertise to deliver quality solutions that meet your customers’ unique needs.

Comms-care will soon be publishing its partner guide on selling SD-WAN – “Delivering connectivity, building growth” – to help you tap into the opportunities it brings – sign up here to receive your free copy.