One of the key benefits of the program, emphasizes Gupta, is that it gives our partners the flexibility to do business with Juniper Networks in the way that best fits their business model. “Above all, it’s a value-based program,” he notes.

The J-Partner program already has more than 2,200 partners from the Asia Pacific alone. Verma says that there are several reasons why their partner program has been so successful.

Firstly, he notes that Juniper has attracted very good partners. In addition, the company has a very different approach to its partner strategy than many other vendors – “We stand behind out partners’ brands and our partners own the relationships with the customers,” he says simply.
Another key distinguishing factor -  all their partners have the flexibility to scale according to their business model, that is, they decide which areas they want to focus on and which they want to specialize in. Moreover, Juniper has increased its product/solution portfolio through innovation as well as through acquisitions, and this has made them very attractive to the partners.

“Juniper is also very committed to the financial health of our partners. The J-Partner Total Financial Opportunity, or TFO, goes beyond pricing and gross margin. We are committed to finding innovative ways to expand the financial opportunity for each and every one of our partners. Beyond product access via specialization and value add pricing, the Juniper Networks TFO includes investment protection for industry certifications earned and flexible service programs,” Verma elaborates.

“Another important approach of our channel strategy is to ensure we have best-in-breed solutions. We are very aware that we cannot do everything ourselves, so we make sure we partner with top companies,” he adds. “We also listen to both our partners as well as our customers.”
Verma feels that the company has reached critical mass with more than 2,200 channel partners in the Asia Pacific region. “It’s a great number and we know we have maximum coverage in this region. Now, we are shifting our focus to continuing to invest in training our partners and ensuring that they cross-sell Juniper’s products. This of course, translates to more revenues and margins for our partners. Moreover, we do not want to over-saturate the market and create channel conflict,” he says.

Ensuring that this is not just plain words made to please its partners, Juniper has already put its shoulder to the wheel and is steadily increasing its own resources to support their channels to be even more successful. This is being achieved with more channel sales training being put in place, an increase in technical training as well as by increasing the MDF channel funding yearly.

“The channel eco-system is a living, breathing entity. It’s very dynamic and there are both external as well as internal factors that make an impact on the whole channel network. We understand this and know we have to be on-top of the channel program and the market too. It’s through our partners, the SIs and strategic alliance partners that we want to distinguish ourselves and at that same time, always ensure we that we never stop value-adding,” Verma ends.◊