Internet and VOIP provider Bandwidth.com is looking to capitalize on CDW's relationship with thousands of SMBs.CDW Corp., the Web-based direct distribution giant, is the latest channel partner to resell Bandwidth.com's internet and VOIP offerings.
The online reseller will offer Bandwidth's internet options; Bandwidth VOIP, a T-1 delivered VOIP solution for businesses; and managed services packages, including managed e-mail, managed server, managed router and performance monitoring packages, to CDW's customers.
The agreement is the first major distribution agreement for the 6-year-old internet provider.
Bandwidth is positioning itself to reach a broader base of SMB customers and expects to capitalize on CDW's trusted relationship with many businesses in the space, said Henry Kaestner, Bandwidth.com's chief executive officer.
"CDW is an attractive route to that customer base," Kaestner said. "[The customers] have aptitude to buy from them over and over again. They trust the CDW model and reputation, and customers will be more likely to buy a VOIP service from someone they've trusted over and over again than someone they don't have a pre-existing relationship with."
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All integration and services, Bandwidth said, will be carried out by CDW or Bandwidth employees.
Bandwidth said it doesn't expect the deal to affect any of its 25 current channel partners.
CDW, which has been described by its CEO, John A. Edwardson, as a "large VAR," has been exploring routes to the services industries, such as law firms and sales organizations, for which VOIP features such as call routing and voice-IM integration, prove especially attractive, Kaestner said.
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