A10 slams 'willy-nilly' partner relationships as it launches new cloud solution

Application services vendor is searching for two key partners for what it claims is the first cloud-native application delivery service

A10 Networks is looking for a duo of key partners to work closely with its new cloud product, as it makes a dig at "willy-nilly" partnerships from other vendors.

The application services vendor's new Lightning application delivery service is its first cloud-native platform, and is specifically aimed at next-generation cloud applications.

A10's systems engineering director EMEA, Duncan Hughes, said the platform came after its acquisition of Appcito in July, and is designed to make applications more agile.

He said: "We have been in this application delivery and security space for a number of years, but Lightning is a new brand we are announcing. Very much next generation, targeting cloud applications, not just cloud deployment but actually how applications are built and consume.

"We are addressing the need for agility within businesses. We give them the capability to be much more agile with the way they deploy these applications. Our competitors in this marketplace do not have this kind of offering."

The vendor currently has six key partners in the UK, and is looking for another two by the time the product rolls out in January.

Lee Mepstead, channel manager for Western Europe at A10, said the vendor is looking to really focus on a small number of partners and build "true partnerships", unlike some partner relationships in the industry.

"Our channel strategy is to focus on really building true partnerships," he said. "I think the term partner is banded around really willy-nilly. We want to make sure our partners are properly trained and properly integrated into our sales team. We need to understand their strengths and weaknesses and for them to understand ours. We want to be properly integrated with their marketing teams as well, and really utilise the strength they have so they can reach as many of their customers as they can."

He added that the product should appeal to partners because it is "something completely new", and claims it is filling a gap in the market.

"The key here is it is something completely new," he explained. "It is the first product like this on the market. We are filling a need. This gives partners something they can represent and position to their customers as new, agile and really simple to use. Fundamentally it will cost their customers a lot less in the long run.

"We have got some really committed partners in the UK that are already up and running. They understand the product and where it fits and which of its customers it works best with. But we are always on the lookout for new partners that are going to be as committed to us as we are to them. We are trying to build true partnerships where we are important to the business of the partner, and they are just as important to us."

Steve Tester, marketing manager of Xantaro UK, which has been an A10 partner for around six years, said that the new cloud platform will provide the VAR with an advantage in the telco market in which it operates as it sees the channel moving more and more towards systems integration.

He said: "It is yet another enhancement to the A10 portfolio and really helps us as a key partner for A10. More and more telco customers require some service integration regarding connecting their data centres to AWS or Azure. It is not about moving hardware anymore; it is about turning the channel into software integrators."