MeterUp 2025 event – Key takeaways

This blog recaps the MeterUp 2025 event and includes key takeaways from Meter and other presenters. As of 2025, Meter has transitioned to 100% channel-based model and has shared its plans to redefine the IT networking industry via new solutions, strategic partnerships and a built-not-bought philosophy. After projecting networking demand will double every two years and 25% of network engineers will retire by 2030, Meter is focusing on simpler, scalable, software-defined solutions. Meter and Lumen announced a partnership that combines Lumen’s WAN with Meter’s LAN platform to provide software-defined connectivity; the solutions will be available in the Microsoft Azure marketplace. However, for Meter to compete better with industry incumbents, it must expand and enhance its channel GTM strategy and partner program to deliver optimal experiences for partners and clients.

Overview: Meter 2025

Meter Inc., founded in 2015, held its annual MeterUp Event on November 18, 2025, in San Francisco, followed by an Analyst Forum on November 19 at Meter’s headquarters, where it showcased the company’s vision, strategy, and innovations.In March 2024, Meter launched its first partner program developed for VARs, MSPs, ISPs, technology service distributors (TSDs), and consultants, based on co-sell and referral incentives. In 2025, Meter’s route to market became 100% channel-based, with key partners such as CDW and WWT driving its growth, and the company was added to the Microsoft Azure marketplace.

 

MeterUp 2025 event key takeaways

Autonomous networking strategy: Meter revealed its focus on autonomous networks, emphasizing a strategy based on model suggestion, human review, data improvement, and model retraining. The company plans to release its fully autonomous network by 2027.

Built-not-bought philosophy: Meter is committed to building its solutions rather than buying them, differentiating itself from competitors in a market heavily influenced by mergers and acquisitions from incumbents like Cisco and HPE.

Networking market trends: Meter estimates that network demand almost doubles every two years, while one in four network engineers is expected to retire by 2030. This highlights the growing need for innovative solutions and skilled professionals in the industry and emphasizes the importance of autonomous networking.

Lumen – Meter partnership

Meter and Lumen announced their partnership, unveiling an end-to-end networking solution that combines Lumen’s WAN with Meter’s LAN platform to provide software-defined connectivity. The solution will offer unified visibility and faster deployment and will be available in the Azure marketplace.

Bob Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet, was the star of the show

Bob Metcalfe recounted the early challenges his company, 3Com, faced when competing with IBM and the importance of channel strategies in leveling the playing field. He emphasized the scalability advantages of selling through retail channels and the foundational role of networking in AI, particularly neural networks. His presentation provided valuable historical context and inspiration for Meter’s channel-focused approach.

New product releases and Meter Labs showcase

Meter announced nine new products, including three firewalls (F-series), three network switches (S-series), and three wireless access points (A-series). The S1-3 switches were particularly noteworthy for their innovative design, featuring flush SFP ports on the left side of the faceplate instead of the industry-standard right side.

Analyst Forum highlights

During the Analyst Forum, co-founders Anil and Sunil Varanasi shared their perspectives as leaders of a young company in a market dominated by incumbents with decades of experience. Key points included:

• Customer and partner feedback: Meter targets mid-size and large partners and aims to provide a simpler partner portal, programs, and solutions that allow them to better predict revenue growth.

• Future focus: The company plans to introduce new solutions and scale its data center offerings in the coming months, with global expansion in regions like EMEA, LATAM, and APAC coming in the later years.

• Marketplace expansion: Meter’s listing on the Azure marketplace has helped drive international expansion as the platform reduces procurement barriers and provides visibility to overseas customers.

• Desired State Networking (DSN): The concept of DSN was introduced, capturing the hardware, software, network, and configuration states to provide a comprehensive system overview.

Conclusion: Future modernization of Meter’s GTM model

The MeterUp 2025 event showcased the company’s vision, highlighting its commitment to redefining networking through autonomous networks, customer and partner centricity, and a built-not-bought philosophy. Meter’s decision to adopt a channel-based go-to-market strategy was partly inspired by the early success of Bob Metcalfe’s channel-focused approach.

Today, Meter’s GTM plans rely on co-management, whereby they supplement partner sales and support with their own services; this approach is geared toward referral, reseller, and distributor partners, including tech services distributors (TSD). Yet to better compete in the IT networking industry, Meter must enhance its channel GTM strategy and partner programs to rival incumbents, like Cisco and HPE, which have expansive channel ecosystems and modern GTM motions that are attractive to a wider selection of partner types, including managed service providers (MSPs) and systems integrators (SIs).