NetAlly spun out of NETSCOUT this week as part of a bid to create an independent company focused on selling handheld network testing equipment via the channel.
As part of the launch, NetAlly also announced Wi-Fi 6 support for its AirCheck G2 testing gear along with updates Link-Live, a data analytics and collaboration service for network engineers and technicians delivered via the cloud. That update provides access to an application programming interface (API) that makes it possible to programmatically extract data from a network management database or trouble-ticketing system.
NetAlly is already pouring resources into the channel, including a revamped partner portal through which deals are registered, access to additional rebates, and updates to the training modules NetAlly makes available, says NetAlly CEO Mike Parrottino. In North America, NetAlly already has a distribution relationship with Ingram Micro.
“We’re going to have deeper entanglement with the channel,” says Parrottino.
The opportunity to resell network testing equipment is expanding thanks in part to rise of cloud computing and the Internet of Things, all of which create demand for additional network bandwidth. Applications deployed in those environments tend to have quality-of-service (QoS) requirements that require organizations to make sure they are accessing reliable networks, notes Parrottino.
Of course, competition across the network testing equipment space has always been fierce. NetAlly, which includes elements of Fluke Systems that NETSCOUT acquired in 2015, competes with Agilent, Anritsu and Ixia.
It’s not clear whether the number of network engineers is increasing but the one thing that is certain is most of them will need to upgrade their network testing equipment in the months ahead to deal with new classes of networking services such as WiFi 6. The opportunity for channel partners is to not just become a primary source for that testing equipment but also the vehicle through which network engineers are trained how to use it.
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