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often that desire for simplicity
makes mid-sized companies put
their channel partners in a bind by
asking for simplicity when simplic-
ity is actually a recipe for failure.
They want plug-and-play when a
one-size-fits-all solution is doomed
to failure from the get-go. It’s a trap
that I see in action firsthand in so
many conversations with custom-
ers, particularly about SD-WAN
implementations. These customers
know they need to upgrade from
their outdated, underperforming,
barely-holding-it-together WANs,
but they are exhausted by the idea
of a complex IT project before it
even gets underway. That is par-
ticularly true with mid-sized cus-
tomers, for which every IT project
is complex given the legacy equip-
ment they rely on and their limited
budgets. For once, they want one
of these projects to be as simple
as pinot and a setting sun, and so
many companies seem to be pin-
ning their hopes for that simplicity
on an SD-WAN implementation.
What does that mean for resell-
ers? It means RFPs with unrealisti-
cally simple project scopes from
new customers that are hoping and
praying that a new SD-WAN will be
a matter of a few clicks and voila!
It means off-by-a-mile expectations
from existing customers who ask
for a proposal for an SD-WAN proj-
ect that they can pull out of a box
like a new iPhone. These expecta-
tions set the channel partner up for
failure … but enough of the doom
and gloom. Let’s all have a sip of
pinot and a spoonful of berries and
take a deep breath, because SD-
WAN implementations don’t have
to fall into the oversimplification
trap. In fact, resellers can turn this
simplicity temptation into an ad-
vantage that helps them deliver a
powerful value proposition to cus-
tomers and lay the groundwork for
a successful implementation.
Turning that potential trap into
an asset isn’t magic. It’s logic. Be-
cause even though customers want
simplicity, they know oversimplifi-
cation when they see it, and they
know that is not a path to success.
There will be no shortage of resell-
ers who will seek to take advantage
of customers’ cravings for simplicity
by making sales presentations that
make SD-WAN planning and imple-
mentation look as easy as pie. Well,
guess what? Anyone who has ever
made a pie knows it ain’t easy. Pie
takes careful planning, and so does
SD-WAN. Customers know deep
down that SD-WAN can’t be as
easy as so many vendors are try-
ing to make it out to be. Customers
know deep down that a one-size-
fits-all approach doesn’t work for
a pair of flip-flop sandals let alone
a complex SD-WAN project. They
need to know the truth, and being
the only one who is trying to truly
be a partner rather than just making
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