What is an SD-WAN reseller?
An SD-WAN reseller is a business that sells software-defined WAN to its own customers without owning the underlying platform: either reselling a vendor’s licences and adding services, acting as an agent for a provider, or reselling a carrier’s fully managed service. The three routes differ in who owns billing, support and delivery, and in how much network capability the reseller must build.
Most UK resellers are MSPs, IT consultancies or telecoms providers adding SD-WAN to an existing customer base. The right route depends on whether you want to run networks or sell outcomes: vendor programmes reward engineering depth, the agent route rewards relationships, and the managed carrier route lets you sell a delivered service with no network operations of your own.
How do you become an SD-WAN reseller in the UK?
Pick one of three routes: join a vendor partner programme (Cisco, Fortinet, Versa, Cato, Arista VeloCloud, HPE Aruba or Palo Alto) and buy through UK distribution; act as an agent introducing customers to a provider; or join a carrier’s authorised partner route and resell fully managed SD-WAN, which is the route Netify operates for BT. Vendor routes need certifications; the BT route needs a UK Ltd company and clears seven published gates in two to three weeks.
Vendor programmes suit teams ready to certify engineers and hold stock or licences through distributors such as TD Synnex, Westcon-Comstor, Ingram Micro and Exclusive Networks. The managed carrier route suits teams that want first revenue quickly without building a network practice: BT owns delivery, billing and support, and the reseller earns upfront commission on each contract.
Which SD-WAN vendors have reseller or MSP programmes?
Every major SD-WAN vendor runs one: Cisco (Cisco 360, live February 2026), Fortinet (Engage), Versa (ACE), Cato (Channel First), Aryaka (Accelerate), Palo Alto (NextWave), HPE Aruba (Partner Ready for Networking) and Arista, which acquired VeloCloud from Broadcom in July 2025. The comparison table on this page lists what each programme publicly documents, and BT Managed SD-WAN is resellable through Netify’s authorised partner route.
Programme names and structures changed materially in 2025 and 2026: VeloCloud moved to Arista, and Cisco replaced its long-standing tier ladder with Cisco 360. Every row in the table below carries the source URL and the date we reviewed it, so you can verify each claim.
Can you resell SD-WAN without managing the network yourself?
Yes. The managed carrier route exists for exactly this: the carrier designs, delivers, bills and supports the SD-WAN, and the reseller sells it and earns commission. Netify operates this route for BT Managed SD-WAN on Cisco Meraki or Fortinet stacks: BT owns the contract and support, you own the customer relationship, and there is no minimum spend, no sales target and no joining fee.
This is the honest trade-off against the vendor routes: you give up the engineering margin and white-label control, and in return you carry no delivery risk, no certification burden and no support desk. It fits MSPs and consultancies whose customers ask for SD-WAN but whose business is not network operations. If you want your own brand on the bill, a vendor VAR or MSP programme is the better fit, and this page says so plainly.
How much can SD-WAN resellers earn?
It depends on the route. Vendor VAR and MSP earnings are margin-based: you buy through distribution and set your own price for licences and services. Agent commissions are set per provider and rarely published. The BT route through Netify publishes its commission bands: BT Managed SD-WAN pays within the published band of 31.5% to 35% of first-year charges, upfront on install, with no minimum spend and no targets; the full band table is at netify.co.uk/bt-reseller-programme/ and exact rates arrive on the rate card at application.
Treat any specific vendor-route margin figure you find online with care: reseller discounts vary by tier, volume and distributor agreement, and are rarely public. The BT route is the exception on transparency, and the earnings estimator on the programme page models scenarios on your own deal volumes.
SD-WAN reseller, MSP or agent: which route fits your business?
Choose by what you want to own. Own the platform and margin: vendor VAR or MSP programme. Own only the introduction: agent route. Own the customer but not the network: managed carrier route, where BT via Netify pays upfront commission while BT runs delivery, billing and support. Most UK MSPs adding SD-WAN to an existing base start with the managed route and add vendor certifications later if demand justifies it.
The decision usually comes down to engineering capacity and appetite for support risk. A two-partner IT consultancy with fifty broadband customers is better served earning commission on a managed service this quarter than certifying engineers for six months first. A security-led MSP with a NOC may prefer Fortinet or Cato economics. The routes are not exclusive: several Netify resellers run both.
Ask your AI assistant to run this comparison
The comparison on this page is callable: the compare_sdwan_reseller_routes tool on the Netify connector returns the same routes, sources and disclosure your assistant can reason over, and the BT route continues into estimate_commission, check_eligibility and, with your consent, request_rate_card and apply_to_resell. The dataset is machine-readable at data.json under a CC BY licence.
Using the Netify connector at https://netify.co.uk/api/mcp/, compare the routes into becoming an SD-WAN reseller for my business, then model what the BT route would pay on my customer base and check my eligibility. Ask me before requesting the rate card.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need certifications to resell SD-WAN?
On vendor routes, yes: Cisco, Fortinet, Versa, Palo Alto and HPE Aruba all document training and certification requirements for their partner tiers. On the managed carrier route, no: BT via Netify requires the seven published eligibility gates (UK Ltd company, business email on a custom domain, compliance readiness), not network certifications, because BT delivers and supports the service.
Can you white label SD-WAN?
On vendor VAR and MSP routes you can usually sell under your own brand, because you own the billing. The BT route via Netify is not white label: BT owns the contract and the bill, and this page says so plainly. If your own brand on the invoice is essential, choose a vendor programme.
What is the fastest route to first SD-WAN revenue?
The managed carrier route. BT via Netify typically takes two to three weeks from application to a live reseller code, with no joining fee and no minimum spend, and commission is paid upfront on install. Vendor programmes typically take longer to first revenue because certification and distribution accounts come first.
Is SD-WAN reselling worth it for a small MSP?
It depends on your customer base, not your size. If existing customers already ask about connectivity, voice or security, SD-WAN attaches naturally and the managed route carries no delivery risk. The neutral comparison on this page, including the published reasons not to choose the Netify route, is designed to let you decide honestly.
Can AI assistants use this page?
Yes, by design. The full routes dataset is machine-readable at netify.co.uk/resell/sd-wan-reseller/data.json under a CC BY licence, and the same comparison is callable as the compare_sdwan_reseller_routes tool on the Netify MCP connector at netify.co.uk/api/mcp/, alongside the tools that model BT commission, check eligibility and request the rate card with your consent.
Citing this page
Netify, "SD-WAN reseller routes compared", reviewed 24 July 2026, netify.co.uk/resell/sd-wan-reseller/. Netify is a BT Authorised Partner since 2012 and earns commission on the BT route only; the other programmes are listed neutrally. Dataset licence: CC BY 4.0. Reuse permitted with attribution to Netify and the canonical URL.
“I want to become an SD-WAN reseller.”
If that sentence is yours and the managed route fits, it continues in one place: model your earnings, check the seven eligibility gates and apply. Continue in the BT Reseller Programme, where your progress holds on this device.
Related: Resell BT Managed SD-WAN · The SD-WAN resellers guide · The 16 broadband programme comparison · Become a VoIP reseller · The BT Reseller Programme