Ice, Ice Baby…

This blog is supposed to be all about opening doors and finding opportunities. One of our strategic partners is Juniper Networks and many of our partners are successful selling their switching, routing and security solutions. But many have not been able to figure out where to dig in since their solution portfolio is so broad. Another challenge some of the Avaya partners have had is really finding some relevance or synergy with the solutions they are talking about every day. Enter Juniper’s SSL VPN which is a function of the Secure Access appliance. In a nutshell, it’s a clientless VPN that gives remote workers access to the corporate network through their web browser. Customers like it because it’s easy to deploy and doesn’t generate the headaches and help desk calls you get from an IP Sec VPN. If you’ve ever gone online to login into your Bank’s website you’ve used SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology. So here’s my question to you: How many IP soft phone licenses have you sold in 2009? How did those remote users securely connect? I’ve asked this question to several partners and usually get a shrug. I think this is a huge opportunity to get deeper in to these customers. This is a great Trojan horse into your customer’s security landscape. The good news is that Juniper is in Gartner’s leader quadrant so you’re not on thin ice when you make this recommendation. Speaking of Ice, and while we’re on the subject of SSL VPN, Juniper has a special licensing program called ICE (In Case of Emergency). The ICE licensing costs significantly less than regular user licenses since you’re only purchasing temporary usage in the event of an emergency – an insurance policy if you will. How many companies have a plan to (a) send workers home in the event of an emergency or pandemic; and (b) do so while maintaining proper security and regulatory requirements? It’s possible to build a practice around this very topic. If you’re an Avaya partner, you can sell a whole bunch of other solutions that fall into this category like IP Softphone, One-X, EC 500, Meeting Exchange and so on. By the way, Juniper’s SA appliance has a built-in web bridge. If this idea intrigues you, call me and I’ll help you coordinate the resources, training, prospecting list and a plan.