Alternative Technology says its distribution deal with Trapeze Networks will help take the fear out of making a move toward wireless LAN solutions for resellers that are new to the technology.

The Englewood, Colo.-based specialty distributor recently signed a value-added distribution agreement with Trapeze Networks, a provider of enterprise wireless LAN solutions based in Pleasanton, Calif. The deal will provide Alternative’s 3,000 resellers in the U.S. and Canada access to Trapeze’s Smart Mobile solutions.

Smart Mobile enables users to deploy scalable wireless networks that support data and voice applications and, according to Trapeze, provide unlimited reach. At the core of Smart Mobile is a wireless LAN architecture that offers centralized control and management while optimizing traffic through intelligent switching, the firm said.

According to Tom Zorn, Alternative’s executive vice president, the deal will help Trapeze meet the growing demand for wireless LAN solutions. “One of the things in the wireless world is, as with other forms of bandwidth, it is required to do more and more jobs,” he said. Use of voice-over-IP technology is growing over wireless as well as cable- or fibre-connected networks, resulting in “more demand for allocating the bandwidth you have.” Trapeze’s solutions are able to help allocate bandwidth and make sure the user experience is both satisfactory and secure, he said.

One of the reasons Trapeze chose to have its products distributed through Alternative is the distributor’s ability to bring in additional engineering and service support to assist value-added resellers (VARs) that are making the transition toward selling Trapeze’s solutions.

“We have several engineering services and our engineers can actually go out for the VAR and do installations if need be,” Zorn said. The distributor offers post- and pre-technical sales support for VARs that are not yet comfortable with, or have not yet received certification for a particular product. “We can do a lot of things to assist them in moving forward rather than being held up. To make a long story short, we make it easier and less scary for the reseller to pick up product lines.”

Trapeze’s offerings happen to fit in nicely with Alternative’s product line, which includes security, edge infrastructure, wireless, virtualization and thin client/server-based solutions. “(Smart Mobile) is a product that covers several of our go-to-market silos or strategies,” said Zorn. The deal fills in the smart switching space for Alternative, further enabling its VARs to provide broader-based solutions for end customers, he added. “Resellers can concentrate on consultative sales rather than reactive transactions.”

Taking a solutions approach is much more profitable for end users because they get a better solution, but it is also saves the reseller a lot of time and money, Zorn noted. “One of the most expensive things for a reseller partner is making sales calls. If we can make those more effective and efficient (by providing solutions rather than point products), we can reduce those costs.”

Zorn said most distribution deals Alternative signs are one-year agreements that are “effectively evergreened” and that Alternative has “every intention to have an ongoing relationship (with Trapeze) for many years to come.”

–By Patricia Pickett

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Wireless Network [t]. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.