Channel Strategies for the CIOSymantec tweaks licensing to appeal to MSPs
Symantec will make the bulk of its software available to small managed service providers (MSPs) via an expanded "ExSP" subscription licensing program kicking off this week.
"We're opening up the aperture on an offering which used to be only available for large service providers -- the telcos and competitive local exchange carriers -- and are now offering it to folks on a different scale: MSPs with maybe 50 to 100 customers," said Randy Cochran, Symantec Corp.'s vice president of channel sales for the Americas.
This is not just for Symantec's popular antivirus software…. Most of the product portfolio will be included in the MSP lineup, Cochran said. "MSPs want endpoint protection but they also want backup capabilities."
MSPs will typically bill their customers monthly and bill back to Symantec through distribution quarterly. "That gives them a pretty good cash flow advantage of 90 days," he said.
Cochran said he expects many of the company's 12,000 registered partners will take a look at this offering.
Last week, CA Technologies (formerly CA), launched a similar
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MSP licensing program for its ARCserve disaster recovery products in North America.
More customers -- from consumers to SMBs to enterprises -- want flexible subscription software delivery options. The appeal of moving some software purchases to an operating expense (opex) versus a bigger, one-off capital expenditure (capex) has simply become too attractive to forgo.
Data center upgrades bring WANs along for the ride
Upgrading data center infrastructure typically requires a significant redo of a company's wide area network (WAN) as well. That WAN work usually includes the use of WAN optimization controllers and a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) migration, according to SearchEnterpriseWAN.com.
EqualLogic adds tiered storage support
Dell's EqualLogic PS6000XVS iSCSI series now supports the use of mixed solid-state drive (SSD) and SAS disks in the same enclosure, automated tiered storage software and greater VMware integration. The company also implemented 6 Gbps SAS support into its PowerVault lineup.
Dell Inc. first added SSD support for EqualLogic with the PS6000 series last year, but the PS6000XVS and PS6010XVS are the first EqualLogic products that allow mixing different drive types in the same enclosure, according to SearchStorage.com.
Check out last week's IT channel news in brief.
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