Gigamon claims professional service scheme will boost partner margins

Network visibility vendor aims to help partners grow with new professional services programme

Network visibility vendor Gigamon has today launched its new Professional Services Programme, which it hopes will increase partner margins.

The vendor is offering a "huge opportunity" to partners who sign up, according to Gigamon VP of worldwide channel sales, Barbara Spicek.

She said: "Professional service engagement usually offers higher margins than pure hardware and software sales, so by adding this to their offerings they automatically increase their margins."

California-based Gigamon currently has 400 reseller partners and saw its 2015 revenues grow 40 per cent to $222m.

The professional services programme is a first for Gigamon and it includes a vendor assist pack, with the first stage being a self-assessment from the reseller which then leads on to training and access to Gigamon's labs and learning centre.

Spicek said: "On top of those benefits, instead of giving partners a professional service catalogue, we really allow them to fully develop their own professional service offerings."

Spicek said Gigamon competes with the likes of Ixia in the network visibility market but is unique in the fact that it has a security delivery programme, working with over 40 security vendors including Palo Alto, FireEye, Check Point and Fortinet.

She added: "There is really no competitor right now that offers a security platform like we do."

The new programme has been created to accompany the security delivery platform, which was launched last year.

"Gigamon really sits in the heart and soul of full infrastructure solutions partners are delivering to the customer," explained Spicek. "So this is the reason we really see the need now to create a full professional service programme."

In the UK, Gigamon currently has around 15 partners, and Spicek expects around five of those partners to join the programme, with about 50-60 partners joining worldwide.

She said: "We are looking to recruit new partners in the UK, but we never want to over distribute. We want to make sure that the partners can grow in line with Gigamon. I think the UK/Ireland market is a good market for Gigamon technology."