Press Releases
2010
Major Shifts in Networking Industry Prompt Force10 Networks to Offer a Channel “Throwdown” to HP Resellers
Force10 deploys new program to beat the price of a fully configured Cisco 6500 chassis switch, giving customers an alternative to Cisco
SAN JOSE, Calif., February 24, 2010 – Force10 Networks, Inc., the global technology leader that data centers, service providers and enterprises rely on when the network is their business, today announced an aggressive new promotion that incents HP resellers to continue to offer a standards-based alternative to Cisco. Resellers that want to offer best-of-breed Ethernet networking solutions from Force10 will receive an improved margin and a lower-priced competitive solution than a comparable Cisco 6500 configuration.
“We’ve seen ongoing channel disruption since Cisco introduced its Unified Computing System / blade server technology in 2009. It intensified this week with the announcement that Cisco will terminate its channel alliance with HP. We see a fast-emerging opportunity to build relationships with partners that now need an alternative to Cisco,” said Andrew Stewart, vice president, worldwide channels and sales operations at Force10 Networks.
Under the new program, Force10 will help resellers and distribution partners like Bell Micro, Tech Data and NHR to define attractive best-of-breed solutions geared for the data center, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and video applications.
Force10’s high density and resilient Ethernet switching and routing solutions are standards-based and offer the unique advantage of Command Line Interface (CLI) that is nearly identical to Cisco’s, thereby enabling seamless insertion. Moreover, Force10’s power and cooling metrics are up to 80% lower than Cisco’s comparable products. Also, the total cost of ownership (TCO) of Force10’s non-blocking line-rate solutions offer significant savings, ranging from thousands to millions of dollars over typical depreciation schedules used by enterprises today.
Industry Transition Opportunity
Called the “C300 Play-to-Win,” the promotion is designed to exploit the large installed base of Cisco’s Catalyst 6509 chassis, which has now reached end of life. Under terms of the promotion that runs through the end of September 2010, Force10 will sell at a lower price its chassis-based C-Series C300 switch against any new Cisco 6500 Series chassis. Moreover, authorized reseller partners who generate more than $1 million in qualified C300 switch net sales to Force10 will receive an additional 10 percent cash rebate.
According to Force10, its C300 chassis solution surpasses the density and switching performance of the Catalyst 6509, supporting 384 line rate GbE ports and 64 line rate 10 GbE ports, in the same footprint as the Catalyst 4510R. The C300’s compact design allows customers to support more network capacity with less space while reducing cooling and power costs.
For Force10 authorized resellers who would like more information, please log in to our Partner Portal. If you are not a Force10 authorized reseller but would like to join, please register here.
About Force10 Networks
Force10 Networks develops high-performance data center solutions powered by the industry’s most innovative line of open, standards-based, networking hardware and software. The company’s Open Cloud Networking framework grants Web 2.0/portal operators, cloud and hosting providers, enterprise and special-purpose data center customers new levels of flexibility, performance, scale and automation—fundamentally changing the economics of data center networking. Force10 Networks operates globally, providing 24x7 service and support to its customer base in more than 60 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.force10networks.com.
Contact:
Michael Schoolnik
StoryPR on behalf of Force10 Networks Inc.
+1 415-674-3816
michael@storypr.com
Force10 Networks, the Force10 Networks logo, Force10, E-Series, Traverse, and TraverseEdge are registered trademarks and Open Cloud Networking, Z-Series, ZettaScale, ExaScale, S-Series, TeraScale, FTOS, Open Automation, are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.
