Greater Number of Platinum-Level Partners at Masergy

Masergy Communications is a managed network and cloud services provider which is at present experiencing steady growth in the number of its partners which have Platinum status; this is the highest level within the company's Global Partner Program.

The senior vice president of business development at Plano, Texas-based Masergy, John Dumbleton, stated that in the last year, the Platinum partner base has grown from five to 12. Most of these partners have been with the company in past, and had previously been at the Gold or Certified levels.

Dumbleton noted: "My objective is that every year that list will continue to grow. The more Platinum partners I have, it's easier to focus time, attention and money on the ones that I know have a historical track record of performing for us."

The company's Global Partner Program has four partner levels (Reseller, Certified, Gold and Platinum), and has over 100 partners. The basis of the four levels is partners' sales volumes. Dumbleton said: "The amount of compensation that [partners] get is based on different revenue tiers. Clearly, when you achieve the Gold level you've stepped to a certain level in terms of that compensation ladder, and when you hit Platinum you are really at the top end of that ladder."

Platinum and Gold level partners, in comparison to the lower levels, have access to benefits like customized joint-marketing strategies, co-marketing funds, special events and co-branded case studies. Higher level partners will also be able to take part in Masergy's Partner Advisory Board.

According to Dumbleton, the majority of Masergy's sales go through the channel, but the exact number was not revealed. The company also partners with solution providers, systems integrators and telecom agents, as well as consultants and network and video equipment manufacturers, and in 2011 was purchased by private equity firm ABRY Partners.

Avant Communications is a Chicago, Illinois-based solution provider and cloud services distributor. The CEO of that company, Ian Kieninger, commented that sales had increased around 30 to 40 percent year-over-year, and is the result of the Masergy's large investments in the cloud and cloud-based managed network services.

Kieninger said: "We see additional pressures and demand for wide area networks to support sensitive applications such as voice or CRM. [The network] needs to handle more bandwidth, and that bandwidth needs to be on-demand. That's key. So with those key components, which are Masergy's strengths, they are coupling themselves very well with cloud growth."

Recently, Avant was reported to be Masergy's top-selling Platinum partner for the third year in a row. During Masergy's 2013 fiscal year, Avant crossed the $1 million mark in monthly revenue. (CY) Link