Who is the Frankly Independent IT Advisor Program for?

MSP owners, ex-VAR reps, solo IT consultants and fractional CIOs, and in-house IT pros with a side practice. No LLC required, no quotas.

How does the program work?

You bring the relationship by referring, co-managing, or self-sourcing the deal. Frankly handles the architecture review, pricing validation, and vendor management. You get paid on every closed deal, with commission deposited directly and tracked in your partner dashboard.

25–40% of Frankly's gross margin on every closed deal. Pure Referral pays 25–30%, Co-Managed pays 30–35%, and Self-Sourced pays 35–40%.

Are there quotas, territories, or exclusivity clauses?

No. There are no quotas, no territory restrictions, and no exclusivity clauses.

Do I need to become a reseller?

No. Frankly runs the procurement end-to-end so you keep the trusted-advisor role with your client and don't need to set up reseller agreements with distributors.

What support do partners get?

AI architecture reviews, competitive pricing data, independent quote validation, full deal support on co-managed deals, transparent reporting in a partner dashboard, and vendor-neutral recommendations.

AI-Powered Strategy Platform

Your AI-Powered IT Strategy Partner

Frankly's AI automates IT procurement complexity—analyzing industry standards, comparing vendors head-to-head, mapping compliance requirements, calculating ROI, and guiding implementation. From architecture recommendations to strategic justification, we eliminate guesswork and accelerate confident decisions.

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Frankly AIonline

IT Strategy & Pricing Assistant

👋 Hi, I'm Frankly AI. What IT challenge

5-15%

Average Savings

Clear Roadmaps

Phased guides for every maturity level

6+ Standards

PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, ISO27001 & more

AI-powered analysis across 100+ vendors & platforms

Check PointPalo Alto NetworksDellProofpointFortinetCrowdStrikeCiscoMicrosoftZscalerAruba / HPEArista

What Frankly's AI Does

From architecture design to investment justification, our AI handles the complexity so you can focus on decisions.

Use Case Playbooks

Discover proven architectures and product stacks tailored to your industry and use case.

Competitive Comparisons

AI-powered head-to-head vendor analysis revealing which solutions excel where.

Compliance Mapping

Automatically identify which solutions address PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, ISO27001, and more.

ROI Benchmarks

See payback period, annual savings, and 3-year value by organization size and industry.

Implementation Roadmaps

Phased deployment guidance scaled to your organization's maturity level.

Two Ways to Start

Pick your starting point

Whether you have a quote in hand or need a strategy from scratch — Frankly has you covered.

🔍

You have a quote

Sanity Check

Drop in your vendor quote. Frankly AI goes line by line — flagging overpriced SKUs, wrong-sized products, and compliance gaps. You'll know exactly where you stand before you sign anything.

Run My Sanity Check →

Project Review

Tell us about your environment — size, industry, compliance needs. Frankly AI designs your architecture, compares top vendors head-to-head, and delivers a branded report with a full ROI breakdown.

Start My Project Review →

How It Works

Sanity-check your IT spend in 3 steps

No commitment, no pressure. Just honest pricing.

Submit Your Quote

Tell us what you're buying — product names, quantities, and the price you've been quoted by another reseller.

We Price It Out

Our team checks our distributor pricing and comes back with a competitive offer — usually within 24 hours.

Compare & Save

See a side-by-side comparison. If we beat the price, you save. If not, you've confirmed you're getting a fair deal.

Non-Profit Program

Your mission is too important to overpay for technology.

Non-profits, charities, and community organizations deserve the same enterprise-grade IT and cybersecurity — without the enterprise price tag. Frankly has a dedicated program to help mission-driven organizations spend less on technology and more on what truly matters.

We believe the communities you serve deserve an organization that's fully funded, fully protected, and fully focused — not one stretched thin by overpriced vendor quotes.

Learn About Our Non-Profit Program Contact Us

Lowest Possible Pricing

We go the extra mile to get non-profits the absolute best pricing from our distributor network — so every dollar stretches further.

Full IT & Cybersecurity Coverage

From firewalls to cloud security to networking — we help non-profits build secure, reliable infrastructure on a tight budget.

Dedicated Support

Non-profit clients get hands-on help from our team. We understand your constraints and work around them.

For IT Professionals

Earn commissions on IT deals you refer

Join the Frankly Independent IT Advisor Program and get paid 25–40% of gross margin on every closed deal.

Our Partner Program

What We Cover

Products across every IT category

Firewalls

Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point

Endpoint Security

CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Carbon Black

Networking

Cisco, Aruba, Arista

Cloud Security

Zscaler, Prisma, Cloudflare

Backup & Recovery

Veeam, Datto, Acronis

Servers & Storage

Dell, HPE, Lenovo

Collaboration

Microsoft 365, Zoom, Teams

Licensing

Microsoft, VMware, Adobe

Switch & Wireless Sizing Guide 2026

Switch & Wireless AP Sizing:
Cisco vs Aruba vs Meraki

Size your LAN switching and Wi-Fi infrastructure correctly — and get competitive NET pricing that beats your current quote.

Get a Competitive Quote

Sizing Best Practices

Plan for 1 AP per 25–30 concurrent users in dense office environments; fewer in open warehouses or classrooms.

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) supports higher client density — essential for BYOD and IoT-heavy environments. Wi-Fi 6E adds 6GHz band for even higher throughput.

PoE budget matters: PoE+ (30W) per port is required for Wi-Fi 6 APs; PoE++ (60–90W) for PTZ cameras and digital signage.

Switch stacking simplifies management — size your core with 40G/100G uplinks now to avoid a forklift upgrade in 2–3 years.

Switch Vendor Comparison 2026

Cisco Catalyst

Enterprise

Best enterprise switching — most widely deployed worldwide

1000 · 9200 · 9300 · 9400 · 9500 · 9600

Aruba / HPE CX

Aruba Stack

Best for Aruba wireless shops — tight AP integration

1930 · 2930F · 6200F · 6300M · 8325 · 8400

Cisco Meraki MS

Cloud

Best cloud-managed — zero-touch provisioning

MS120 · MS130 · MS210 · MS250 · MS390 · MS410

Juniper EX

AI-Driven

Best for Mist AI-driven networking

EX2300 · EX3400 · EX4100 · EX4400 · EX9200

Extreme Networks

Education

Best for education & hospitality

210 · 220 · 465 · 5420 · 7520 · SLX 9150

Netgear Smart

Budget

Best budget SMB unmanaged/smart switches

GS308 · GS316 · GS724T · GS748T · M4350

Wireless AP Vendor Comparison 2026

Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi 6/6E

Cloud

Best cloud-managed — zero config, auto RF optimization

MR36 · MR46 · MR57 (6E) · MR76 (outdoor)

Aruba Wi-Fi 6/6E

Recommended

Best for high-density + AI-driven RF (Aruba Central)

AP22 · AP25 · AP43 · AP55 · AP565 (outdoor)

Juniper Mist Wi-Fi 6

AI/ML

Best AI/ML-driven WLAN ops + Marvis virtual assistant

AP12 · AP32 · AP43 · AP45 · AP63 (outdoor)

Ubiquiti UniFi

Budget

Best budget — self-hosted controller, great for SMB

U6 Lite · U6 Pro · U6 LR · U7 Pro · U6 Mesh

Not sure what you need?

The AI sizing tool will ask about your building, user count, PoE requirements, and existing vendor — then give you a specific recommendation.

Building size & layout

User / device count

PoE requirements

Cloud vs on-prem mgmt

Existing switch/AP vendor

Wi-Fi 6E requirement

Click the chat bubble → say "help me size my network"

Networking FAQs

How many access points do I need?

The general rule is 1 AP per 25–30 concurrent Wi-Fi users in a dense office. In open warehouses or classrooms with fewer devices, 1 AP per 50–75 users. Always do an RF site survey for large deployments — wall materials, interference sources, and ceiling height all affect coverage. For VoIP or video-heavy environments, size down to 1 AP per 15–20 users.

Wi-Fi 6 vs Wi-Fi 6E — what's the difference?

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) operates on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Wi-Fi 6E adds the 6GHz band — more spectrum, less interference, but shorter range and requires Wi-Fi 6E clients. For most enterprise deployments in 2026, Wi-Fi 6 is sufficient. Wi-Fi 6E is worth deploying for high-density conference rooms, healthcare, and new construction buildings where you control the RF environment.

Cisco Meraki vs Aruba — which is better for enterprise Wi-Fi?

Cisco Meraki wins on ease of management — zero-touch provisioning, cloud dashboard, and auto RF optimization. Best for multi-site organizations or lean IT teams. Aruba wins on raw RF performance, AI-driven optimization (Aruba Central + AIOps), and tighter integration with Aruba switches. Both are enterprise-grade — the choice usually follows your existing stack.

What PoE switch do I need for Wi-Fi access points?

Wi-Fi 6 APs typically draw 15–25W. PoE+ (802.3at, 30W per port) covers most APs. For Wi-Fi 6E or multi-radio APs (like Aruba AP55), you may need PoE++ (802.3bt, 60–90W). Check the AP's power draw spec. Factor total PoE budget: a 48-port PoE+ switch typically has 370–740W total PoE budget — divide by average wattage per AP to confirm it covers your full deployment.

How do I size a core switch for my campus?

Core switches carry all inter-VLAN traffic, connect to your firewall/router, and aggregate distribution switches. Key specs: port speed (10G for access uplinks, 40G/100G for core-to-core), forwarding rate (must exceed total aggregate bandwidth), and redundancy (dual power supplies, stacking/VSS). Cisco 9500, Aruba 8325, and Juniper EX4400 are common mid-market core choices.

How much does enterprise networking cost?

SMB switches (Cisco 9200-24, Aruba 2930F): $800–$2,500 per unit. Enterprise access switches (Cisco 9300, Aruba 6300): $2,000–$6,000. Core switches (Cisco 9500, Aruba 8325): $8,000–$25,000+. Enterprise APs (Meraki MR46, Aruba AP43): $400–$900 per unit. Add 15–20% annually for SmartNet/support contracts. Frankly quotes NET pricing — typically 15–30% below list on Cisco, Aruba, and Meraki.

Ready to save on networking gear?

Frankly quotes NET pricing on Cisco, Aruba, Meraki, and Juniper — typically 15–30% below list. Submit your quote and we'll beat it in 48 hours.

Get a Competing Quote