ProCurve Networking by HP has expanded its connectivity and convergence switch solution set of offerings by today introducing its ProCurve Switch 2610 Series of products, which the company hopes will help to expand its existing partner and customer base.
The switches in the 2610 Series are what Corey Copping, product marketing manager for ProCurve Networking by HP (Canada) says are a next generation enhancement to the company’s current 2600 Series of products.
What’s big news for partners and end-users this time around, Copping says, is that the 2610 Series of switches are all priced either at or below the list price of ProCurve’s older series of products. Copping mentioned that maintaining its current price points is ProCurve’s strategy to attract new customers and partners with the new enterprise edge switches that are designed for use in converged network environments.
“We’re introducing these priced-right products to attract both new customers and to give our current customers a good option to move and upgrade to the 2610 Series,” Copping said.
The series includes five switches that offer 10/100 connectivity for converged networks and are made up of different form factors including two switches with PoE (Power over Ethernet), two without, as well as a hybrid option.
“The 2610 Series of switches will be a fit for customers who are looking to deploy unified communications (UC) in various stages,” Copping said. “These products will make it easy for network managers to deploy VoIP, monitor traffic flow, add in security cameras and also other telephony products.”
Some features of the new 2610 series include, support for UC, VoIP and video streaming, in addition to network administrator control over incoming and outbound traffic. While the ProCurve Switch 2610 Series are best suited for customers in the medium to large sized enterprise market, Copping said ProCurve also hopes to leverage its presence in the manufacturing and healthcare sectors and beyond too.
Channel to play vital role for ProCurve
ProCurve’s channel, Copping notes, plays a vital role in the company’s go-to-market strategy with these new switches. Since the company works on a 100 per cent channel based model, Copping also said training sessions and Webinars will soon be made available to partners to educate and train them on the features, benefits and sales and deployment processes for the 2610 Series.
“We also have a ProCurve Partner Program,” Copping said. “If a partner has their certifications and are a part of this program, they can also receive extra discounts upfront and back-end rebates depending on the level of their membership.”
Although Copping kept mum on what range of margins partners can expect to see with the ProCurve Switch 2610 Series, he did say they will be at or better than the margins that are currently being offered on the older series of switches, which he says, sit comfortably in the double-digit range. The 2610 Series prices range from $709 to $3,069 depending on the model and are immediately available.
“The way we’ve designed these products and priced them to be lower, there should be more margin to be made by our partners,” Copping said. “The products should really sell themselves and the price points really shouldn’t be a factor because we also offer a lifetime warranty on the products.”
To date, Copping estimates there are roughly around 50 to 60 partners across Canada who are enrolled in the ProCurve Partner Program and who have certifications. When it comes to partner recruitment, he says ProCurve’s always looking to expand its partner network, especially in the SMB-targeted reseller space.
“(Partner recruitment) will be a focus for us this coming year,” Copping said. “We also want to really evangelize and talk up our ProCurve Partner Program to let our partners know that with minimal training certifications and a minimal revenue commitment, there are good profits to be made for them.”
