The mood was buoyant at the Juniper Networks Americas Partner Conference, held April 11 – 13 in Phoenix.
Juniper Networks is on a roll after coming off a strong 2010. Revenue and operating margin in calendar/fiscal year 2011 is expected to grow by 20% and 23% respectively.
Wall Street sees Juniper growing faster than competitors such as Alcatel-Lucent (+13%), Cisco (+8%), Brocade (+8%) and HP (+4%).
Channel partners will benefit from a 20% increase in MDF funding and expanded support in the field in sales and service with a new general business group of 100 staff.
73% of revenue is generated through partners. The service provider market is sold direct by Juniper. Partners can sell $2 to $2.60 of services for every $1 of Juniper product sold.
You might expect some chest-thumping from the talented channel and marketing team that Juniper has put together.
However, these executives have their feet firmly on the ground. All of the channel and market executives were welcoming and engaging. The vibe was hugely positive reflecting the excitement of exponentially growing a $4 billion organization.
Emilio Umeoka, SVP WW Partner, joined my lunch table during the Conference. He was unassuming as he conversed with a Brazilian VAR and Juniper partner account manager in his native Brazilian.
In a casual discussion, Luanne Tierney, VP Global Partner Marketing, spoke about the affable team that attracted her to Juniper from Cisco. Luanne created a lot of positive buzz at the Conference with her Women in Technology lunch and her women’s initiative at Juniper.
Peter Finter, VP Americas Marketing, is a quick witted, dynamo who entertained a group of us after a dinner with humorous stories of life with his teenage sons.
Cisco has awakened to the threat from Juniper and other competitors such as HP. This last week Cisco shut down the Flip video camera that was acquired less than two years ago from Pure Digital. As Cisco focuses on core business markets, the Juniper will be tested by its rival who is ten times its size.
My organization, Direct Impact Marketing, is the number one provider of third-party channel programs to Juniper Partners for the past two years. We applaud Juniper’s success and are appreciative of the opportunity to work with this fast growing organization with such a stellar management team.
Video: Juniper outlines channel marketing plan for Canada – Luanne Tierney & Peter Finter
Photo Credits: Before the Conference, I embarked on a hike in a regional park near Scottsdale and the photos above are from that scenic hike.
