The enhanced SteelCentral also adds Prism, which uses AI to visualize the conversion funnel and spot issues, and full integration with Riverbed Xirrus WI-Fi.
A third enhancement, new SteelConnect support for LTE uplinks, is more of a niche feature in North America except in remote regions, although it is still sometimes used as a backup system.
Riverbed also provides updates on the status of the Xirrus integration project into SteelConnect – and other integration points.
Riverbed provided an update to partners on where they are in enhancing their services and partner competencies, and also promised a new partner portal is on the way.
The integration of two companies with fundamentally different partner bases poses specific challenges, but also creates new opportunities.
Riverbed delineated the progress it has made in its cloud strategy over the past year – while also giving Cisco a backhanded compliment for providing leads for Riverbed SD-WAN solutions.
Xirrus added CommandCenter to the Xirrus Management System for MSPs last March to make the provisioning process quicker, and now has augmented it further.
802.11ac Wave 2 is still in early adopter phase, but more medium and large sized customers are asking about it, so Xirrus has unveiled two new dense solutions aimed at use cases like conference centres which have large numbers of Wi-Fi users.
In addition to CommandCenter, which greatly simplifies the provisioning of new customers, Xirrus is also announcing enhancements to their MSP program to improve benefits.
Xirrus brings its 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi solution, to market, and launches its new low-cost 802.11ac Wi-Fi access points, which replace, and are cheaper than, older 802.11n APs.
The changes reflect the wireless networking vendor’s transition in the last several years from a direct seller to a company that sells entirely through the channel, where the internal sales force now works to drum up business for partners.
