Westcon launches Avaya new partner bootcamps for former Nortel resellers 12 January, 2010 By Mark Cox

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The first of the Avaya new partner bootcamps was piloted last month in Philadelphia to dozens of enthusiastic resellers prior to the closing of Avaya's acquisition of Nortel. During January and February, bootcamps will be offered in Dallas, Chicago and Toronto. Each of the sessions will feature onboarding presentations from business leaders at Westcon Convergence, Avaya and Nortel.

"These bootcamps provide an excellent means for Nortel-oriented resellers to gain Avaya certification as well as to get in front of what is a very promising channel opportunity," said Steve Bernard, vice president and general manager of Westcon Convergence." As a leading global distributor for both Avaya and Nortel, Westcon Convergence is in a unique position to deliver timely guidance, accurate information and unparalleled expertise to the reseller community."

"As we saw in our Philadelphia bootcamp last month, these sessions also provide a vehicle for valuable interaction among resellers, each of whom faces common business challenges," Bernard added. The remaining bootcamp dates and locations are as follows:

Dallas: January 12-14 at the Sheraton Arlington Hotel, Dallas, TX

Chicago: January 26-28 at the Westin O'Hare, Chicago IL

Toronto: February 9-11 at Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Toronto Int'l Airport, Toronto, ON

"Westcon Convergence has a very important role to play in helping our new Nortel customers realize new market opportunities with a truly exciting combined product set," said Mike Reid, vice president, Distributors, Avaya. "These bootcamp sessions not only provide visibility into the Avaya's product set, but are also a fabulous opportunity for our mutual customers to gain expert guidance from business leaders and decision makers."

The bootcamp is free for qualified Nortel-oriented resellers and is targeted primarily at business principles, senior sales and operations executives. In addition to uncovering Avaya-related product and services opportunities, the seminar will also cover complementary solutions from Meru Networks, Audiocodes and others as well as financing options from Westcon Group and Avaya Financial Services.