Elfiq Networks is beefing up training and support for its channel partners to attract VARs selling networking and business continuity solutions to its partner program.

Although the vendor, which provides Link Load Balancing technology, does not currently have a very formalized structure for supporting channel partners, by the middle of this year, it will expand its current one-tier channel program into three tiers, according to J.P. Hebert, vice president of business development at Elfiq.

Hebert said Elfiq will provide a formal training and certification process for both sales training and technical training which will be available to partners by the end of the second quarter.

Don Reczek, director of technology solutions at KDSA consulting, an Elfiq partner who provides consulting, network design and implementation services, welcomed the program enhancements.  He said that Elfiq is offering incentives based on sales volume as well as co-marketing services and marketing collateral.

He added that Elfiq was always responsive when he had questions, but that he looked forward to the additional benefits as the program matured. "Until now, there hasn't been much training except white papers and information on their site. The training is needed because this is a complex issue and solution," he said. 

Elfiq's technology allows for multiple, simultaneous network connections and aggregates incoming bandwidth from a variety of sources.  This helps to increase network speeds, and can also provide network failover and communication continuity in the event of a disaster.

The link load balancing technology also lets SMBs use both their primary and secondary networks' bandwidth at once, while still providing a backup connection in the event of a primary network failure, said Hebert.  If a failure occurs, the load balancing capability shifts network traffic to the functioning connection until the second connection is back online.

"With this technology, we now have the ability to go back to existing SMB customers and say, 'We can give you load balancing features, aggregation and failover for disaster recovery and business continuity'", said Reczek.  He said his company looked at vendors such as eSoft, PepLink and Cisco offering bandwidth aggregation solutions similar to Elfiq's, but that he felt the service and support were lacking or the price points were too high for his company and his SMB customers.