Colt partners with Axians to strengthen SD-WAN offering

Colt Technology Services has signed a partnership agreement with Axians, the centre of excellence for SD-WAN and the next generation of networks.

The partnership, which sees Axians added to Colt’s Partner Hub ecosystem, will offer enterprise customers expanded market-leading SD WAN solutions, along with commercial flexibility underpinned by two separate managed service contracts, combined with a single operational model.

Axians will design, deliver, and contract for the SD WAN overlay, while Colt will do the same for the network connectivity underlay. The Professional Services element (including project delivery, service assurance and service management) will also be aligned to provide a unified customer experience and will include a joint solution architect bid team, a single project delivery plan and an aligned service management process.

Building on the two companies’ strengths, the partnership will complement Colt’s current SD WAN offerings and expand the addressable market across Europe, especially for those prospective customers who are looking for a specific vendor or operational model that requires deeper integration and customisation.

The joint solution will help drive growth in IP Access and IP VPN sales, and give the partners the ability to serve a much wider base of enterprise customers.

Mark Hollman, Colt’s VP Partner Development and Success, said: “We have a well-developed partner ecosystem, and this new partnership with Axians builds on that. Leveraging Axians deep operational strengths, and combining it with our network capabilities, will allow us to expand our established SD WAN offerings for enterprise customers, along with increasing the addressable market in Europe.”

Russell Crampin, Managing Director at Axians, said: “This new joint partnership sets out to recognise and address the challenges faced by many large European enterprise organisations as they take steps to build agile networks that underpin their digital strategies. In their journey from traditional networks to Cloud Services and SD WAN, decision makers are putting greater emphasis on business outcomes and reducing risk over the mere selection of technology and services.

“Together, Colt and Axians simplify the SD WAN lifecycle process from initial design, through deployment and ongoing management. This collaborative approach breaks new ground by combining a world class fibre network with industry leading SD WAN expertise and capability.”

Recognised as a Visionary in the Gartner 2021 Magic Quadrant for Network Services, Colt also received Frost & Sullivan’s 2021 European Customer Value Leadership Award. The company’s recent industry-leading Net Promotor Scores (NPS) reflect Colt employees’ high motivation, and the Financial Times’ Diversity Leaders list rated Colt first in the telco industry.

Colt which was a pioneer to the market back in 2016 when it launched its first SD WAN offering, has developed a successful, innovative offering resulting in triple digit growth year on year. Combining the scale and reach of the Colt IQ Network with an expansive set of features, Colt recently launched SD WAN 2.0, which introduced a series of enhancements that align SD WAN to customers’ evolving network landscape.