Posted: 08/2002
VAR Program Delivers Handheld Connectivity
By Khali Henderson
Gigamedia Access Corporation launched in July a value added reseller (VAR) program for its PeerSwitch service, which allows mobile workers to access and share information on their PCs in real time.
Using PeerSwitch, mobile professionals and mobile consumers can use wired or wireless devices to read and send e-mail, modify files, look up contacts, check schedules, receive alerts and share information from their PCs without reconfiguring firewalls, copying data or forwarding e-mail.
Gigamedia's PeerSwitch Service utilizes a hybrid peer-to-peer architecture. Security, authentication and connection services are managed centrally while data are distributed, allowing users to maintain a single copy of their data within the confines of their existing security system. When customers want to reach data, two outbound connections, one from the requesting device and the second from the serving PC, are initiated and bridged by Gigamedia's server. Once the connection is made, the encrypted data flow between the devices without intervention from the central server.
Gigamedia's PeerSwitch service provides VARs with upselling and product bundling opportunities. For example, VARs selling large volumes of PCs and PDAs can create a "remote worker" package consisting of a desktop PC, a wireless PDA and the PeerSwitch service. Similarly, VARs selling wireless services can upsell customers to data plans and more advanced phones based on their need to access their personal data in real time.
By selling PeerSwitch, wireless and IT resellers can offer clients remote access services for $6.95 per month per user. Enterprise pricing is based on this per-user rate with volume discounts.
Gigamedia hosts the service, customizes the enrollment process and provides a billing mechanism so VARs can launch the service without investing in or building infrastructure. Gigamedia also provides sample collateral and sales materials and first-line customer service. The enrollment screen can be customized to reflect the distributor's brand.
Revenue is split depending on the work distribution between Gigamedia and the partner. If Gigamedia does everything but market and sell, as in the example above, then the dealer gets $2 per individual user and Gigamedia gets the remainder. The split goes up to 50:50 if the distributor takes on additional responsibilities, such as customer service and billing.
Doug Johnson, vice president of marketing for Giga-media, says that it is advantageous for the VAR to take on the billing to reinforce branding on the credit card statement.
He also says that VARs could take on the hosting responsibilities, but that escalates them to a "partner" category reserved for larger companies like wireless carriers, broadband service providers and cable companies. Three such companies already are in trials with the service, he says.
Ideal distributors for the carrier-agnostic service, Johnson says, would include companies -- carriers, agents or resellers -- that already are selling wireless services and can market the remote access product as an add on or a bundle.
The company's first distributor is Trio Teknologies, which offers its own network of resellers and agents a single source for data/voice plans from multiple carriers, data and voice hardware, middleware software, thin client integration services, and the ability to tie these components together. Trio provides local, regional and nationwide coverage with rate plans for wireless data from carriers, including AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless and VoiceStream Wireless.
"PeerSwitch is an application that will increase our partners' sales of wireless data solutions," according to Gordon Dahl, President of Trio. "PeerSwitch fills the gap in remote access offerings for our agents' small to medium-sized business end users."
Gigamedia Access's Outlook interface with inset of PDA browser view.
