Extreme’s Local Support Helps Partners Serve Their Communities — A Spotlight on Alpha Technologies

Our channel community is at the core of everything we do here at Extreme. We believe that providing an exceptional customer experience happens from the top down, and by developing genuine relationships with our partners, we empower them to do the same with their customers.

Today, we’d like to put a spotlight on Alpha Technologies, their unique partnership with Extreme, and how we combined our expertise to modernize network management in South Charleston, West Virginia.

About Alpha Technologies

Based in Hurricane, West Virginia, Alpha Technologies is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business with two data centers and a third on the way. They provide system security and maintenance, broadband connectivity, voice services, cloud computing, data storage, and backup.

Aside from being an Extreme reseller, the company uses Extreme Networks infrastructure in its own data center in Kanawha County. Alpha’s engineers, therefore, have first-hand experience using the products that they sell and are available to effectively support customer-facing sales teams as needed.

Growing During the Pandemic

In 2015, Alpha Technologies built a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) with a fiber ring that goes around the city of Charleston. It was deployed because local customers didn’t have access to other robust network services. During the pandemic, with many employees working from home, customers needed higher bandwidth, so Alpha began looking to Extreme for solutions of up to 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE) network speeds.

In West Virginia, not everyone has access to Ethernet circuits.  Alpha Technologies was one of the first Extreme partners to offer SD-WAN.

“With a data center located right here in West Virginia, we provide an SD-WAN option for our customers that are not so comfortable using a public cloud,” says Rich O'Brien, President of Alpha Technologies.  “They can have a hybrid network solution with SD-WAN, with quick and secure access to their data.”

And with ExtremeCloud IQ, the company can provide unified, automated, and secure network management across the wired, wireless, and SD-WAN services they offer customers.

The Importance of Local Support

“For our partnerships, we really take into consideration price, total cost of ownership, and support,” says O'Brien. “Extreme checks all the boxes. And knowing that we've got ample, first call support here in West Virginia is very important to us. When our techs need help, we call Extreme, and we've got people right there to help us and get the problems resolved. Many of our competitors are out of state, so local support is a competitive advantage.”

Thanks to Alpha Technologies, fire and police departments and networks of security cameras throughout the state ― that all used to be on separate networks with no interconnectivity ― have access to a solution that offers secure, reliable, high-performance networks with advanced features like analytics and automation.

Getting Up-to-Speed with Extreme’s Gamified Training

Extreme has provided a wealth of training to Alpha Technologies’ personnel, both in-person and remote. The training includes access to the Extreme Dojo site where partner personnel can learn and earn Extreme Networks partner certifications for Extreme Sales Specialist, Extreme Design Specialist, and Extreme Certified Specialist.

“The training is fun, gamified, and readily available,” says O’Brien. “Plus, it's very relevant to what the customers need us to be trained on.”

Try Our Virtual Test Flight

Check out Extreme’s Virtual Test Flight, which showcases the capabilities and benefits of ExtremeCloud IQ through a hands-on virtual workshop covering the operational and technical advantages of our solution. Contact your Alpha Technologies representative or Extreme’s local team. 

Hear more in this in-depth interview with Rich O'Brien, President and CMO of Alpha Technologies.