AT&T is opening up network APIs and allowing partners to take more control as it looks to expand its reach in the enterprise

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

February 21, 2013

1 Min Read
AT&T Opens Up for Partner Program

AT&T Inc. this week announced a new effort it's calling the AT&T Partner Exchange, which sounds dodgy if you're married but isn't as risky as you might think.

Kidding aside, what AT&T is doing is giving solutions providers -- value added resellers, regional IT shops, managed services providers -- a way to add AT&T services such as mobility managed services, cloud and networking solutions, to their own apps and services.

The kicker? The solution provider takes ownership of the whole end-to-end sales and service experience.

In the same way AT&T has started loosening up its network-based application programming interfaces (APIs) for mobile developers, the operator is giving these solutions providers its APIs to let them manage, troubleshoot, provision network services, etc. on AT&T's network.

But why would AT&T want to be inside a bundle of services rather than own the customer?

"First was our realization that the marketplace is changing, and the way some of these companies in the mid-market and below are buying services differently," says Brooks McCorcle, president of AT&T’s new Emerging Business Markets organization. "They want to buy integrated bundles from one company and solutions providers have become trusted advisors to these companies."

Years of hand-wringing about how to reach small and mid-sized enterprises, as well as the constant fear of being relegated to a "dumb pipe," seem to have been addressed in one fell swoop here. By being more open, McCorcle and company can provide the stuff that AT&T is known for in a way that seems more like a plan from Amazon.com.

— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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