Macquarie Telecom becomes VeloCloud Pinnacle Partner in $30M play for MSPs

The deal will bring commercial pricing on VeloCloud SD-WAN services with a customer service-focused relationship.

Macquarie Telecom has signed a $30 million four-year agreement with VeloCloud to become the first Pinnacle Partner in Australia and the wider APJ region.

VeloCloud has restructured its channel model globally and is encouraging smaller partners to work with Pinnacle Partners that it believes offer deep technical expertise to managed service providers (MSPs).

The Australian telco has also announced the promotion of current CMO Tony Emmanouil to director of marketing and channel, leading the company’s VeloCloud Partner Channel and working closely with MSPs.

Macquarie Telecom is heralding the new agreement, noting that partners will have a local provider that operates in Australian dollars, providing better price certainty in the face of fluctuating exchange rates, and more attractive discounts.

The telco is looking to help offset Broadcom’s recently enacted price rises, something that should be well received in the market given most budgets are squeezed.

“Partners and end-user customers are definitely feeling the pain of vendor price increases across the board, particularly with budgets staying where they are,” said Emmanouil.

As its largest partner in Australia and New Zealand, the arrangement will enable Macquarie to offer a full suite of VeloCloud services, including hardware, licensing, managed services and carriage.

“Partners can benefit from our carrier-grade SD-WAN network architecture, which includes dedicated redundant orchestrators and redundant gateways at dual POPs in each state as well as New Zealand. They can also white label or co-sell our branded solution to best suit their needs,” said Emmanouil.

“We also have the most experienced SD-WAN engineers in the country, onshore support and flexible models to best suit partners.”

Expanding SD-WAN services to underserved mid-size businesses

Macquarie Telecom first brought SD-WAN technology to Aussie shores and recently expanded into SASE (security access service edge), a unified, cloud-based networking and security service, for channel partners.

SD-WAN is built with VeloCloud is designed to provide better reliability, efficiency and security compared to traditional networks.

“It’s essentially the cloud revolution happening within our networks, and it’s now expanded to other innovative developments including SASE,” Emmanouil told CRN Australia.

With new apps coming in, security threats and business increasingly relying on distributed networks, Macquarie Telecom believes there is a growing, and underserved, market in Australia for this mix of services from a local partner.

The telco is targeting mid-sized businesses that it believes are overcharged and overlooked by vendors and major telcos. It aims to deliver a better experience as an industry-leading telco that boasts net promoter score (NPS)-proven customer service.

“We’ve got a truly unique blend of experience, expertise, commercial value and service to enable more partners to bring this technology to a greater cross-section of Australian businesses,” said Emmanouil.

The CMO takes the reins across market and channel

Commenting on his new appointment, Emmanouil said there’s a natural synergy between sales and marketing and responsibility for channel customers. He plans to maintain the focus on customer needs and providing value to channel partners.

“I’ll be applying that same lens to this role; helping partners differentiate, go to market with confidence, and grow faster through compelling, outcomes-driven support,” he said.

Emmanouil will prioritise customer experience and listening to partners and understanding their customers and the challenges they face. He aims to align product, service and commercial models to meet the market’s needs.

“Our net promoter score (NPS) culture will continue to drive that discipline, and our new channel program gives us more flexibility than ever to shape tailored, high-value solutions with partners,” he ended.