Sonus Expands Partner Program into Two-Tier Structure to Meet Growth and Diverse Needs of Channel Partners

Sonus Partner Assure Marks One-Year Anniversary with Extended Support and Two-Tier Framework for Channel Partners across Its Session Border Controller Portfolio

Key Takeaways:

Sonus to deliver channel engagement and support programs in a two-tier distribution strategy to meet needs of growing partner/reseller community
Since its inception in 2012, approximately 300 partners and resellers have joined the Sonus Partner Assure Program, representing Sonus solutions to enable real-time communications across six continents
Usage of the Sonus Partner Portal, an award-winning self-service tool enabling partners to accelerate their skills development and improve customer responsiveness, has grown by 300% since program inception with an average of 150 new partner users requesting access each month

WESTFORD, Mass. ̶ Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONS), a global leader in SIP communications, announced it has expanded its channel partner program, Sonus Partner Assure, to include additional partner designations, including the adoption of two-tier distribution partners. The program’s enhancement underscores the growing number of participating resellers since the Sonus Partner Assure program launched last year to support the extension into the enterprise market with the company’s session border controller (SBC) portfolio. Today, Sonus solutions are sold through a diverse network of reseller partners to small and medium businesses, large enterprises and regional service providers. The expansion of Sonus Partner Assure into a two-tier business model extends Sonus’ reach across channels, including more than 250 partners who have joined the program following the company’s acquisition of Network Equipment Technologies, Inc., ("NET") in August 2012.
The announcement of the expanded Sonus Partner Assure program ensures superior partner enablement via:

Continued, high-touch support to its established partner community as the number of participating resellers in the program continues to grow
Expanded partner management with value-added distributors engaged to provide pre- and post-sales technical support, in-region labs and demonstration resources and expedited local product delivery capability worldwide
Broader self-service tools available through the Sonus Partner Portal, including an online quoting tool for instant delivery of product configurations and pricing, direct access to technical support documentation and trouble ticketing as well as a hub of communications resources from bulletins to webinar archives and product collateral
Accelerated ramp up for new partners and new partner representatives through the extensive library of online, on-demand training courses for both sales and technical job functions

Sonus’ portfolio of session border controllers (SBCs) is purpose-built for the demands of SIP-based communications and feature rich applications like Unified Communications (UC) and video. Sonus SBCs enable secure access to SIP trunking and unify disparate UC architectures across an enterprise. SIP trunking and the move to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) can generally reduce traditional enterprise telecom bills by up to 50 percent. The Sonus portfolio provides the industry's only end-to-end SBC solution portfolio delivering SIP-enabled applications from the service provider to enterprise headquarters to the branch office.

Quotes:

“Enabling a strong channel foundation is core to Sonus’ go-to-market strategy,” said Joe McLaughlin, vice president of Worldwide Channels, Sonus. “Our focus is on helping our partners effectively address the rapidly growing demand for SIP-based communications. Whether seeking to enable 100 sessions or 64,000 sessions, the combined Sonus and NET portfolio represents the market’s only end-to-end portfolio of SBC solutions, expanding the Sonus Partner Assure program into a two-tier model allows us to better activate and empower our diverse ecosystem of channel partners.”
“We joined the Sonus Partner Assure program because of Sonus' reputation and experience in the delivery of high-quality, reliable VoIP and SIP solutions,” said Rob Gibbon, Head of Partner Management, Capita IT Services. “Sonus' acquisition of NET further strengthened our belief in the company and has enhanced our ability to deliver end-to-end solutions from the headquarters to the branch of our most demanding customers.”
“For more than a decade, Westcon Group has teamed with leaders like Sonus to help partners generate new revenue opportunities based on the power of SIP-based Unified Communications,” said Westcon Group Senior Vice President North America Lynn Smurthwaite-Murphy. “Based on this track-record, we feel this expanded relationship is the right move to help our resellers achieve even greater levels of success leveraging next-generation converged communications.”

Other Facts:

The expansion of the Sonus Partner Assure program coincides with the one-year program anniversary in June 2012
Notable Sonus Partner Assure program members include Arrow S3, Dell, Dimension Data, Distribution Central, Integration Partners, NEC, NextiraOne, Orange Business Systems, ScanSource, Sumitomo Shoji Machinex, TSG, Verizon and Westcon
Sonus Networks’ indirect (channel) revenue as a percentage of total product revenue was 17% in Q1’13. With continued scale in the deployment of the Sonus Partner Select program, Sonus expects the channel to contribute 20-25% of its total product revenue in 2013
Following the NET acquisition, Sonus has seen channel growth in firms that deliver Microsoft Lync UC solutions. Sonus offers more Microsoft Lync-qualified SBCs than any other brand

Tags/Keywords:

Sonus, SONS, Sonus Partner Assure, channel, value added reseller, VAR, session border controller, SBC, session initiation protocol, SIP, SIP trunking services, IPsec, media transcoding, ipv6 interworking, Sonus SBC 1000, Sonus SBC 2000, Sonus SBC 5100, Sonus SBC 5200, Sonus SBC 9000, Unified Communications, UC, Cloud VoIP communications, Session Management, employee productivity, enterprise communications

About Sonus Networks:

Sonus helps the world's leading communications service providers and enterprises embrace the next generation of SIP-based solutions including VoIP, video and Unified Communications through secure, reliable and scalable IP networks. With customers around the globe and 15 years of experience transforming networks to IP, Sonus has enabled service providers and enterprises to capture and retain users and generate significant ROI. Sonus products include session border controllers, policy/routing servers, subscriber feature servers and media and signaling gateways. Sonus products are supported by a global services team with experience in design, deployment and maintenance of some of the world's largest and most complex IP networks. For more information, visit www.sonus.net or call 1-855-GO-SONUS.

Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

The information in this release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Although Sonus believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this report are forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Sonus' business, please refer to the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of Sonus' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements represent Sonus' views only as of the date on which such statement is made, and should not be relied upon as representing Sonus' views as of any subsequent date. While Sonus may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point, Sonus specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law.

For Sonus Networks:

Wendy Tullo
+1 972-301-4978
wtullo@sonusnet.com

Lois Paul & Partners
Anastasia Efstratios, +1 617-986-5873
anastasia_efstratios@lpp.com