VergX, a cloud-based managed reseller solutions provider, has created a solution to help managed service providers (MSPs) and resellers gain a foothold in the emerging SD-WAN and security SD-security segments.
By leveraging Versa’s multi-tenant software platform and suite of networking and security services, VergX has developed a turnkey network as a service (NaaS) solution for MSPs and resellers to offer SD-WAN services to their business customers.
The solution enables VergX partners to offer their end business customers fully managed SD-WAN and SD-Security services.
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Since it is a cloud-based service, VergX partners do not need to purchase and deploy their own underlying infrastructure to provide a service offering with management and detailed reporting from the Versa Director integrated portal.
Brian Fink, EarthLink's former CTO and now board member of VergX, told FierceTelecom that it sees Versa as an attractive partner to help its channel partners get SD-WAN into their portfolios for business customers.
“We have done a lot of research on how SD-WAN is going to impact us,” Fink said. “As we looked at the need out there, particularly for smaller MSPs in the hosted voice community for getting SD-WAN-based solutions, we looked at best technology platform and business partnership we could engage with.”
Enabling hosted voice players, MSPs
Unlike Tier 1 service providers, hosted voice providers and MSPs generally lack the capabilities to launch a wide-scale product for their customer base.
By partnering with VergX and Versa, smaller service providers that are more oriented toward delivering applications can gain an instant entry into the growing SD-WAN space.
“What we have built here is a Tier 1 carrier so these smaller MSPs or IT services companies can leverage that solution,” Fink said. “These companies can go and compete in the market effectively with any Tier 1 type of service provider offering SD-WAN.”
Fink added that because MSPs have more experience in the application stack, “this gives them a tool to jump into the networking space.”
VergX focuses on two types of resellers with its go-to-market strategy: hosted voice providers and managed service providers.
The first type of reseller is focused on selling Metaswitch or Broadsoft-based hosted voice or unified communications (UC) platforms and are looking at QoS for their VoIP or UC application.
“They are a natural fit and most are looking at SD-WAN when we talk about it to them, but most have not engaged with the process that enables them to generate recurring revenue with this technology,” Fink said.
The second type of vertical reseller VergX works with is MSPs that sell managed firewall and managed router services. Their experience may be more with installing and maintaining equipment for business customers
“In this type of vertical, we go in and talk to them about transitioning into that recurring revenue and giving them a turnkey platform to engage with in terms of quoting, ordering, provisioning and operations,” Fink said. “Initially, we can help them with those functions in terms of their go to market planning, but then over time they can integrate those functions back into their own operating processes.”
Accelerating time to market
A key focus of VergX’s relationship with Versa is enabling its MSP and UC partners’ time to market.
VergX’s NaaS offering allows MSPs and resellers to go to market within weeks and offer their customers a tiered service portfolio including advanced SD-WAN, next-generation firewall and unified threat management (UTM).
“They don’t have to take the six months to build out the platform and conduct testing and trials, which we have been doing,” Fink said.
While VergX could not identify any of its current partners leveraging the NaaS platform for SD-WAN, the company said there’s one that’s already using it.
“One of the early resellers that we brought on our platform are an ideal partner because they’re going to the agent community and we’re providing the underlying service,” Fink said. “The model actually worked and we were able to shorten their product development time.”