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ADTRAN Inc., a supplier of next-generation network solutions, has announced the expansion of its reach to resellers targeting small and medium-sized businesses through a new program.

With the new Value-Added Distribution (VAD) program, specialty distributors will be aligned with resellers to deliver fully-supported solutions to their end-user customers.

This new program is considered to be especially beneficial to smaller resellers who have a demand for ADTRAN (News - Alert) NetVanta products, yet do not have the infrastructure necessary to support them or the specialization required for select platforms.

With this new program, ADTRAN should be provided with a means to engage the majority of the U.S. reseller market. It is also expected to provide VAD-supported resellers with an attractive means to compete.

“Value-Added Distribution enables resellers to leverage the service, support, certifications and logistics capability of a specialty distributor without incurring additional operating expense,” said Bob Meador, director enterprise distribution channels, ADTRAN Enterprise Networks Division. “This allows the specialty distributor to bring added value by enabling the reseller to provide total solutions to their end user customer.”

ADTRAN also plans to work with VADs to create best-in-breed product bundles by combining ADTRAN products with those of other leading manufacturers. This approach will provide resellers with a number of turnkey solutions for a variety of technology areas, thereby eliminating the need for extensive research by the reseller and adding the benefit of support from their VAD.

“This program is indicative of ADTRAN’s creative and innovative thinking as they continually work to strengthen their reach to a broader base of resellers,” said Annette Taber, executive vice president, sales & marketing, Interlink Communication Systems, in the Monday statement.

“We are excited to be the first partner in the program and see it as a great opportunity to bring added value to our resellers and meet the growing demand for ADTRAN’s NetVanta products.”

The new program is designed to offer a variety of benefits to select participants. It allows distributors to create a value differentiator through the delivery and support of total solutions. It also enables both the distributor and the reseller to sell more products and create additional opportunities to generate recurring revenue from services.

“Value-Added Distribution will allow resellers, many of whom do not have the support staff or the means to invest in specialization during these tough economic times, to have the ability to offer a broader range of ADTRAN’s value-driven solutions to their customers,” said Ted Cole, vice president of channel sales, ADTRAN Enterprise Networks Division, in the Monday statement.

“This program enhances the role of the distributor as the solution expert, making it a trusted advisor to the reseller and provides the reseller with a broader product portfolio to offer its customers, thus increasing the opportunity for everyone involved to experience greater success.”

The SMB sector of the market has long been the fastest growing, presenting considerable opportunity for those who target this part of the market. ADTRAN seeks to capitalize on this opportunity, offering this new VAD program that is positioned to the benefit of channel partners.

ADTRAN is also seeing a growing demand for its products and therefore needed to take a proactive approach to expanding its reach. The development of this new program should help the company to achieve its short term and long term goals as it continues to focus on driving growth.