Linksys Launches Partner Advantage Program In Canada

Linksys, which is in mounting an aggressive commercial sales charge, has formally launched its Partner Advantage Program in Canada.

The wireless networking provider, which has an impressive track record of delivering enterprise performance at breakthrough prices for small- and midsize-business customers, is in the midst of recruiting partners in Canada for the new program with distribution partners Ingram Micro, Synnex and D&H Distributing.

[Related: Small Business-Minded: Linksys Arms Its Partners With Enterprise Tech At SMB Price Points]

"Canada represents a huge opportunity for us," said Wayne Newton, director of commercial markets for Irvine, Calif.-based Linksys, in an interview with CRN. "We are hitting the ground running. We feel we can accelerate business in Canada as we bring some of the purpose-built programs and products that Linksys is known for into that market. Future product launches will now be done jointly in Canada and the U.S."

The emphasis is on taking the U.S. partner program innovations and tailoring them to the Canadian market, said Newton. "We went through a lot of hard work to be successful in the U.S. market and are applying it to Canada," he said. "There are some real opportunities to take all our experience as a business, as a brand and channel team to Canada. No one is taking the approach we are in Canada with our focus on SMB."

Linksys – which has put senior account executives across Canada, including Vancouver – already has invited all partners in Canada that have done business with the company in the past six months to join the program, said Newton.

Linksys' six-person commercial inside sales team is also now supporting Canada, said Newton.

D&H Canada is working closely with the Linksys team to expand the Linksys SMB business in Canada, said Mike Dekok, director of purchasing for D&H Distributing Canada.

"Linksys really gets the SMB market," he said. "When you take two partners like D&H and Linksys that value that SMB community, you can do wonderful things together. We are looking forward to helping Linksys drive Canada sales growth."

The Linksys Partner Advantage program is geared specifically for SMB partners, said Dekok. "We are always excited when a partner comes in with a program that has the same outlook that we have on the SMB community," he said. "This is a natural partnership for us. What Linksys is bringing to Canada ties directly into what resellers are looking to from a vendor partner. It is simple for partners to take advantage of the benefits and to manage."

Linksys – which is part of Belkin International – is in the midst of being acquired by Foxconn Technology Group, the world's largest contract manufacturer with $158 billion in annual sales.

Partners expect the acquisition, which must pass U.S. regulatory approvals, to translate into significant product innovation and manufacturing advantages for Belkin and Linksys.

The blockbuster deal, which was announced last month, comes as Linksys is mounting a major commercial channel sales charge that the company expects will flip its total percentage of revenue in the commercial market from 35 percent of total sales to 70 percent of total sales over the next three years, said Newton.

"We have built a platform for growth in the last few years with the reinvestments we have made in the channel," he said.

Linksys has, in fact, beefed up its commercial channel program over the past several years to focus on high-performing solution providers.

In addition, the company has expanded its Partner Advantage Program with what amounts to an Internet of Things offensive with its Wemo home/office products including energy and electrical appliance monitoring solutions.

"Our Wemo business has tripled in the channel in the last nine months," said Newton. "What has really been driving a lot of interest on Wemo in the commercial market is energy and utility companies."

Public utility companies in California and Arizona have inked deals with the company and are helping drive success with Wemo smart plugs, which work with Nest and Alexa and are Google Home-compatible. "It's a high-value, low-entry-price-point offering for solution providers," he said.