Enterasys Networks @ Misty Hills

Resellers, distributors and other channel partners were all invited to network and discuss current trends and ideas within the Networking paradigm.

The event was aimed at consolidating existing business relationships as well as bringing new resellers and also end users into the Enterasys game.

Gerry Carroll, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Marketing Director, says, "Reinvention is critical with the negative economic cycle that is currently dominating the IT market. Being nimble, agile and open to different ways of doing business is critical in the IT market today."

"Most people would say that a vendor is a vendor is a vendor but we are selling benefits and solutions not simply selling boxes."

Acronyms abound in the IT industry and SAM is one that dominates current thinking in the Enterasys operations room. Security, Availability and Mobility says all about who Enterasys are and how they want to be seen.

Gavin Levine, Sales and Marketing Director for SA, says, "Knowing your customer is critical in the networking world and conferences like this enable us to discuss issues and debate solutions in an informal environment. A large percentage of change in our products and solutions stem directly from customer involvement and feedback."

Input from SA users is utilised in the Enterasys world market and De Beers is a critical example of the insights that can be applied world wide.

Levine says that having end users and distributors together in a team building conference environment is unique in the industry and the benefits of input from all angles is critical for new solutions and approaches formulated by the Enterasys technical guys.

Business at Enterasys gets done in a flat structure with no hierarchies to create obstacles in the quest for solutions.

This annual conference is also part of the Enterasys way of life that revolves around constant interplay and mingling with many coffee breaks and extended periods of discussion. This is not just about talking shop although product presentations and discussion does play a role.

"We like to get people chatting to people they don't normally chat to," says Levin, "for example, distributors are usually at least one step removed from the end users and customers."

An example of the Enterasys approach is their relationship with the Development Bank where the focus was on finding a solution to specific problems rather than punting a product.

Enterasys is second to networking industry giant Cisco but their aim is to try harder in building client specific solutions.

A networking solution revolves around three factors. Infrastructure, people and applications and Enterasys provide only the last meaning that discussion with the client and often customisation is needed for the package deal to function.

Networking vendors can only create differentiation through services as product differentiation is not sufficient to build margins.

A great deal of time at the conference was spent focusing on what the company does best. They are a networking vendor but that is not where networking begins and ends.

The need to understand the customer is obvious on any marketing level and what Enterasys proved at this conference is that it is an ongoing process.

Doing the simple things over and over again reinforces not only the business relationships but also the image of a Networking vendor that really does network.

The band called Enterasys played at one of the evenings and proved a big hit with all and sundry. What the company continues to prove is that marketing is all about taking the tools and building a specific solution for their needs.

The Enterasys approach to marketing is not unlike their approach to networking and they are making it work.