Distribution Central and Avaya have locked heads, to provide a comprehensive channel program targeting the SME Unified Communications market across Australia and New Zealand.

The channel distributor says the program comprises a range of channel initiatives designed to enable ANZ resellers to sell and support voice, video and data.

The push will be spearheaded with Avaya’s Scopia video conferencing solution, which was integrated into the Avaya portfolio last year following its acquisition of Radvision.

“Collaborative communications, particularly if it has a video component, has been targeted at the enterprise in the past, but this campaign is focused on the SME market, particularly the medium market,” says Nick Verykios, managing director, Distribution Central.

“We’re providing resellers with an opportunity to deliver the leading Scopia technology with their own services, but the truth is that even their own services are becoming a commodity.

"Therefore we are also providing resellers with the opportunity to differentiate by delivering on SLAs on those services."

DC and Avaya have already signed up 38 new ANZ partners in the last six months and have trained over 110 individuals – 70 in Australia and 40 in New Zealand – through their recent local accreditation workshops.

“The SME market represents a huge growth opportunity for Avaya in ANZ and 84% of our business is now through the channel," says Tim Gentry, managing director ANZ, Avaya.

"We’re committed to working with Distribution Central and our channel partners in Australia and New Zealand to deliver simple to use, cost-effective multimodal collaboration solutions to support those companies’ business growth initiatives."

Concluding the deal, Verykios said: “Video previously never had the mobility and if you did have a mobile device it was cost prohibitive.

"Now, in the hands of the mobile user, video is gaining in popularity, especially in the SME market.

"Our objective is to put video in everyone’s hands."