Elfiq launches new global partner program 26 February, 2008 By Chris Talbot

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Elfiq isn't new to the channel. Founded in 2003, it started shipping its first products in 2004, but prior to the launch of the Elfiq Alliance Program, it had a simpler channel program. According to JP Hebert, vice president of business development at Elfiq Networks, the previous program was designed to allow partners to resell Elfiq products, but the structure was minimal. From a growth perspective, Hebert said Elfiq wasn't mature enough to really delve into the channel, but now that it is, it's gone ahead with a more structured international partner program.

"We've been getting partner requests from all around the world," Hebert said. To date, Elfiq has more than 400 units installed in over 28 countries around the world. Elfiq has retooled itself into an organization that can support a global marketplace, he added.

Within the new channel partner program, there are two types of partners -- agents and resellers. Agents are organizations that offer consulting services, but don't resell products. The reseller part of the program was designed for more traditional VARs, and it's broken down into Elfiq Partner and Elfiq Elite Partner levels.

Elfiq Partner was designed as an entry-level designation for organizations that want to resell Elfiq products but don't want to commit to any sales targets.

"The Elite Partner is for the organizations that wish to commit and want to build a business around Elfiq," Hebert said.

Naturally, there are certain requirements a channel partner must meet to be considered an Elite Partner. They'll have to commit to annual sales target, which will be specific to the organization's contract with Elfiq. They'll also have to commit to training and certifying their people on Elfiq products.

Elfiq's training and certification curriculum is currently being designed. The sales side of the curriculum will be released soon, and the technical side will follow in the second quarter of 2008, Hebert said.

While the products require some technical knowledge, Hebert said it's a "very short jump" for individuals with experience running Cisco-like products to become familiar with Elfiq. For those with less experience, Elfiq offers a Windows client to make management a bit easier. Even so, Hebert said it's fairly easy to get the basics by talking with Elfiq's support team for about an hour.

All partner levels have access to free training materials, pre-sales technical support and the sales/technical certifications programs.

Elfiq also has a very aggressive development roadmap and is continually working to add new features, Hebert said. None of the functions require additional hardware, he noted.

"The Elfiq appliance has been designed to support the enterprise market space, but we're also the only product vendor that does enterprise-class products as well as SMB. Nobody else offers gigabit throughput and a little branch to link devices," Hebert said.

The products were also designed to be professional services-friendly, he said.

"A lot of VARs out there are looking to make money on service, and this is one of the great tools to do it," Hebert said.

With its new channel partner program launching, Elfiq is looking to recruit more partners, Hebert said. Its preferred type of partner is an organization that is able to position technology as a solution, but they tend to have various technical backgrounds, including networking, VoIP, e-commerce, security, business continuity, disaster recovery and others.

"The best partners are the ones where they are able to translate technology into a business need resolution," Hebert said.

Elfiq partners will also find a lot of opportunities with businesses that can't afford to have any down time, connectivity loss or saturated links, he said.

"Elfiq will provide a very creative, affordable solution for organizations out there that need business continuity. It's the type of solution that customers are not, from a mass-market perspective, aware of, so it's a semi-greenfield opportunity. It's not a saturated marketplace," Hebert said.