Cellular connectivity platform and solutions provider Aeris recently announced the launch of its expanded global partner ecosystem to enable technology advisors, distributors, VARs, MSPs, OEMs, and carriers to deliver secure, scalable Internet of Things (IoT) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solutions worldwide.
Partner program changes target demand for IoT across VARs, TSDs, MSPs, and more
The expanded Aeris Partner Program provides a clear path to capture demand for solutions that unify connectivity, visibility, and security by replacing fragmented connectivity and security models with one integrated, scalable solution for IoT and FWA.
“IoT is evolving from a side initiative into mission-critical infrastructure for modern enterprises,” said Rob Holley, head of channel and new routes to market at Aeris. “That shift uncovers unprecedented opportunities for partners not only to provide connectivity, but to secure, manage, and monetize the full IoT lifecycle. The expanded Aeris Partner Program is designed to help them lead that transformation and drive scalable, profitable growth.”
The newly expanded program supports:
- Channel partners by enabling access to Aeris IoT solutions through trusted sales channels, including Technology Advisors (TAs), Technology Services Distributors (TSDs), and Value-Added Resellers (VARs).
- Service provider partners by delivering fully managed, secure IoT and FWA services through MSPs, Application Service Providers (ASPs), and Systems Integrators (SIs).
- Technology Alliance Partners embedding Aeris connectivity and security directly into devices and applications in partnerships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).
- Mobile Network Operator Partners by extending the Aeris platform through long-standing established carrier relationships with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).
Platform-based approach for IoT and FWA success: Holley shares details with Channel Insider
The program connects channel partners through a unified ecosystem around the Aeris IoT Accelerator global connectivity management platform and Aeris IoT Watchtower security, monitoring, and analysis solution.
“I think a platform solution is important across anything you do, whether that’s a data center facility or an IoT solution,” said Holley, in an interview with Channel Insider. “Being able to provide an ecosystem where a customer in our instance, no matter where they’re located globally, can enter into our ecosystem and provide services or have a solution that will work the same whether they’re in North America or whether they’re in Australia because of the strength of this ecosystem of 30 different MNOs that we’ve partnered with.”
Holley said that the ecosystem enables them to have a single set of policies or profiles in a unified environment, allowing partners to monitor and secure their solutions and connect them.
Over the next few years, Holley said he sees IoT and FWA technologies becoming increasingly prevalent as legacy connectivity wanes.
“You see more customers looking for a faster speed to market solution and a more secure solution,” Holley mentioned. “And as network edges continue to expand, whether that’s a device or whether that’s a network wedge itself, you’ll see more and more of 5G and more and more of fixed wireless access extending out to that IoT edge.”
Increasingly, partners are looking for the ability to secure the extended edge, Holley said.
“We’re talking more and more with our different ISV partners that are looking for a solution that says ‘I can provide SASE to the laptop edge, I can provide it to the telephone edge, but I can’t provide it to that true IoT edge,” said Holley. “They’re actually looking for ways to expand their ecosystem further out, and that’s why they’re coming to us and having these conversations.”
Future-proofing edge security
As organizations continue to grow and the footprint of technology expands, Aeris wants to remain mindful of where the ecosystem has come from and where it’s going.
IoT Watchtower provides a three-step solution: awareness of what’s going on. If you look at it from the perspective of questioning what’s happening in your network.
“The beautiful part about Watchtower is that it’s [a secure access service edge] solution that allows you to extend your corporate policies that you would have if you had SASE,” said Holley. “Every one of our carriers that are connected into this ecosystem– these 30+ MNOs globally– I know as an enterprise, if I’m deploying in North America or if I’m deploying in Australia through this ecosystem. One set of policies, one set of profiles, one ecosystem to be able to control everything so I’m not having to go and do this ad hoc one after the other.”
Watchtower acts as a monitor to prevent cellular overages and to identify whether your devices are communicating with malicious devices, making it highly protective of systems at the edge.
“If we look at how networking has kind of expanded and how technology has expanded to keep up with networking, we’re just right now at the cusp of that next evolution of where devices are going next and how do we make sure that as a partner ecosystem, we’re making sure that the enterprise is connected and protected at the edge, where their edge may be,” said Holley. “As we continue to grow with AI, we have to be mindful of where that edge ends and does it ever end?”
Managed SASE solutions are becoming increasingly prevalent as modern businesses seek greater security and agility in their environments. Read more about Omega Systems’ addition of SASE to its security service portfolio.