VAR skills alert over tie-up
Channel needs training to keep up with products offered by vendor alliances
As networking firm Lucent and security vendor Enterasys work together to offer more secure networks, analysts claimed resellers need to sharpen their skills to keep up.
The two vendors will deliver secure network products integrating Enterasys's infrastructure and secure network management with Lucent's firewalls, software and services.
The deal follows similar tie-ups between Juniper and NetScreeen, and IBM and Cisco.
John Meyer, president of Lucent's worldwide services group, claimed the partnership would allow Lucent and its partners to deliver high-end secure networks.
"It's an opportunity to address customers we wouldn't have reached before," he said.
Rachel Power, analyst at research firm Canalys, said: "It's something of a trend. Vendors are realising that you can't just sell a network that isn't secure."
But she warned that partners would need training to deliver systems to end-users.
"The channel is going to need education. You can't just suddenly decide you're going to start building secure networks," she said.