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Alcatel-Lucent moves beyond PBX

Vendor looks to tempt multi-skilled VARs in aggressive recruitment drive

Comms vendor Alcatel-Lucent is preparing an assault on the high-end networking channel after claiming "it is not all about the PBX any more".

The Franco-American firm recently added start-up integrator Nuage to its UK partner ranks. Nuage has been set up as a services-focused business, with an emphasis on applications and multi-vendor offerings.

Brooke Savage, SMB sales specialist for Alcatel-Lucent's UK and Ireland enterprise market group, said the comms vendor wants to bring on board more partners of Nuage's ilk.

She said the channel will see a change in how Alcatel-Lucent conducts itself, and exploiting its alliance with HP will be key to its strategy.

"You will see us becoming more aggressive in the market," said Savage. "[We will be] bringing on integrators."

The comms vendor agreed the 10-year partnership with HP last year to jointly develop and take to market communications and IT kit. Earlier this year the pair unveiled several joint packages around unified communications and collaboration.

The channel has moved a long way beyond its telephony dealer roots, said Savage, and Alcatel-Lucent wants partners with diverse skills.

"We want a portfolio of partners that have a great understanding of applications and the virtualised world," she explained.

"We understand it is not all about one vendor, it is about integrating technologies. We have partners that understand it is not all about the PBX any more, it is about applications and a mix of customer-premises equipment and cloud."

Nuage founder Michael Lloyd (pictured) said his firm would provide something different to many of the vendor's traditional channels.

"They seem interested in our skill sets; we are coming from a different angle to the existing resellers," he said. "[Alcatel-Lucent's] data product is very strong."