Dallas, Texas, February 25, 2014 — AT&T today announced its investment to accelerate its work with solution providers through a $300 million commitment of resources over three years that began in 2013. The vast majority of this investment is expected to be spent this year and next year. The investment is intended to drive more Application Programming Interface (API) development and enhance a suite of programs and services to speed up solution providers’ transformation from traditional upfront sales compensation to a recurring revenue stream.
AT&T also announced agreements with GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance, Wells Fargo Capital Finance and AT&T Capital Services Inc. to help solution providers in the AT&T Partner ExchangeSM reseller program to strengthen their working capital and grow their business.
“Response to AT&T Partner Exchange has been overwhelmingly positive – it’s all about collaboration and innovation between AT&T and resellers. We learned early on that mutual success is driven by a solution provider’s ability to serve their customers end-to-end,” said Brooks McCorcle, president, Emerging Business Markets, AT&T Corp.
“Today, we’re announcing new investment plans to enable solution providers to get the capital, tools and programs they need to compete and win in the marketplace. As we scale the program, we will remain agile to help them create differentiated solutions for their customers,” she said.
In addition to new financing options, AT&T Partner Exchange is now offering technology, programs and services to help solution providers accelerate sales, including:
- APIs that allow solution providers to access and manage networking capabilities to help them reduce cycle times, be more efficient, decrease operating costs and add value to their custom solutions. The company’s robust API platform will also enable competitive Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for provisioning to enable solution providers to quote and close deals more quickly.
- A multi-media training platform for solution providers to support sales transformation that includes a certification program, digital learning paths and onsite leader-led sessions through collaboration with Deloitte and the NetExam Partner Learning Management System.
- Third-party billing and taxation solutions from BillSoft and SureTax to help solution providers meet the challenges of capturing and reporting taxes in a recurring revenue business model.
- Immediate access to market development funds to drive solution provider marketing and sales programs to help them grow their business, including dedicated marketing consultants and self-serve tools.
“AT&T is accessible to solution providers – from people to processes. Their responsiveness reinforces their commitment to our success,” said Scott Madison, president of Reno, Nevada-based Network Services. “We’ve grown our business significantly through the program, and expect to see continued growth this year.”
Through AT&T Partner Exchange, solution providers have access to mobility, cloud and IP networking solutions from one of the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to businesses. Solution providers can bundle those services with hardware, software and managed services of their own to offer a custom solution for their business customers.
