Arista on the prowl for non-Cisco partners

On the continent: Arista is looking for five or six key partners in each European country

Arista Networks is imploring non-Cisco-centric networking VARs to explore 10Gbit Ethernet technology as it looks to cement ties with a handful of committed partners.

Director of global channels Mark Foss revealed the vendor currently has about 100 European partners, a fifth of which are “really active”.

Foss wants to forge relationships with five or six key VARs in each European country.

“It helps to have a direct touch to the customer,” he added.

Foss is looking for medium-sized resellers with a background in networking, particularly those whose primary focus is not the market-leading vendor.

“Sometimes [Cisco partners] are too involved with selling Cisco,” he said. “Non-Cisco partners are usually better. [Partners] have to have a passion for Arista.”

Foss predicts his firm will grow revenue at least fourfold this year, in a market that will double in size.

Barrie Desmond, director of Arista distributor VADition, claimed channel interest in Arista had ratcheted up in the last four months after a slow start. He agreed with Foss that attracting Cisco partners “has been a struggle”.

“[The Arista product] is a quarter of the power, a quarter of the space, 10 times the capability and half the price of Cisco, and the margin involved is three times the amount,” he said. “We are beginning to build momentum. The ‘ABCs’ [anyone but Cisco] are finally turning up.”