Huawei has embarked on a reseller charm offensive to win over networking VARs and integrators as it launches a new enterprise channel programme.
The up-and-coming China-based comms and networking firm has attracted plenty of column inches in 2011, appointing Micro-P and SDG as its UK distributors and appointing several high-profile movers and shakers, including Sun’s Simon Culmer and former HP and Cisco channel man Dave Poskett.
Huawei European vice president of channels Dominique Vanhamme, himself a former Cisco alumni, told MicroScope Huawei believed it now had a “very strong proposal in terms of programmes, profitability and overall policy.”
Vanhamme conceded that there had been a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt raised over Huawei’s intentions, but said he hoped that as the market matured this would soon dissipate.
“We have made a very strong statement about our integrity and, importantly, intellectual property management. I would think our partners are smart enough to understand that Huawei would not be where it is today if we weren’t acting with complete integrity,” he said.
“Our game plan is not to disrupt the market through, for example, price wars. We want to be creative and inventive.
We have a wide portolio of solutioons and products that we believe stands out, compared to US manufacturers,” Vanhamme added.
The new programme, unveiled at a London partner event earlier this week, includes a comprehensive reseller offering including demand generation, co-marketing, significant target-based rebates and deal registration.
The vendor also unveiled plans to recruit partners into a fast-track accreditation scheme, and Vanhamme talked up the network services angle, saying he wanted partners to be able to tap into the services capabilities that Huawei has developed to service its telco customers.