BT business ADSL-speed for managed services
With more than 40 per cent of UK businesses hooked into the Internet via broadband, BT has finally bitten the bullet and is upgrading all its ADSL business customers to 2 megabits per second (Mbps).
Although some lower-end packages are being capped with data download limits, BT is being quite sensible about the change - which doubles or even quadrupled some customer’s speeds - and talking to its resellers about the outlook for hosted applications such as Microsoft Exchange Messaging.
John Carter, managing director of DMSL, one of BT’s key broadband partners, reckons the speed hike, which should be
completed for most business customers by the summer, said that the move will make ADSL even more irresistible for small businesses. It will, he said, help to drive further uptake of e-commerce and applications services.
Not that many dealers are, it has to be said, selling hosted
applications - yet. Carter reckons that will change, as he predicts it will be a big growth area over the next few years. Now that just about everyone can have a 2 Mbps connection, resellers can take the concept of hosted applications and remote management to their customers and it’s a very attractive proposition as far as the small to medium-sized enterprise is concerned, he said.
He’s right too. The firms don’t have to manage their applications or worry about security or licensing, and they can be sure that the system is being kept right up to date as well. Carter says it’s a big opportunity for resellers to move into the hosted services market and I’d have to agree.
AVG claims reseller happiness with its anti-virus
AVG, the UK distributor for Grisoft and the AVG range of anti-virus software, is claiming that 80 per cent of its resellers rate the software more highly than the competition in terms of profit margin, ease-of-use, licensing and overall technical competence. I suspect the profit margins are the major crowd pleaser, but Michael Foreman, AVG UK partner, says the research was genuine and the first carried out by the company. ‘There seems to be a real appreciation for our approach, he said, adding that the next step will be to pro-actively promote these messages to a much wide audience in the company’s drive to recruit more sales partners.
One of the most appealing aspects of the product, says AVG UK, is its two year product licence - the only one of its kind in the reseller channel. Peter Brewerton, managing director of PC Help, a Sussex-based IT reseller, said that his staff like the management console and the fact that AVG is easy to set up. ’AVG represents excellent value. It uses less processing power and updates more often than most other anti-virus products, making it easier to sell,’
Computer 2000 intros dealer supplies configurator
Computer 2000 (Tech Data UK) has added a supplies configurator to its dealer printer ordering system. The system allows dealers to quickly match the right consumables to the right printers for their customers, both when the customer orders the printer initially and when they ask the reseller for further ink and toner cartridges, as well as paper supplies.
The idea behind the configurator is, obviously enough, to boost sales of printer consumables for C2000, but, the distributor says, it also saves time and money as dealers no no longer have to consult a compatibility chart or call in on a reseller helpline.
Nick Quattromini, C2000’s general manager of the supplies
business, said that the service enhances the experience of doing business with customers and the distributor. ‘It makes the whole process more efficient - both for us and our
customers. It enables them to find the right consumables and place their orders very quickly, minimising costs and maximising sales potential.’ C2000 says that its comparator service has more than 3,000 consumable products from a variety of suppliers.
Margins in the printer supplies segment of the market are excellent. One dealer that this writer has been dealing with
for years told me that the gross margin on compatible cartridges is around 50 per cent.
Ciphertrust revamps dealer channel
CipherTrust, a IT security vendor, has moved from a two-tier to a single-tier direct-to-reseller sales channel in the UK with the aim of signing another 25 resellers by the end of the year. The company says it is also looking to sign another 50 distributors and resellers in continental Europe by the end of the year.
The move to single tier sales in the UK, says David Stanley, the firm’s EMEA managing director, is to improve dealer training and ales support. ‘We value the expertise that the channel brings and their breadth of knowledge across vertical markets,’ he said, adding that he realises the firm cannot meet the demands of customers and prospects without the assistance and support of channel partners. ‘CipherTrust’s commitment will ensure that 100 per cent of its business is handled by its dedicated and trained partners,’ he explained. According to Stanley, CipherTrust plans to recruit new partners with the necessary skills to deliver the firm’s IronMail security appliances. ‘The recruitment drive will identify partners with security skills and a solid understanding of the challenges facing organisations attempting to secure the email gateway.’
The aim of the UK and European changes, says Stanley, is to double the firm’s European revenues over the next 12 months, hence the need to sign up more channel partners.
INSL signs disti Computacenter
Computacenter, the UK’s largest business IT reseller chain, has signed a distribution deal with INSL for its SpheriQ email content management service. The service, says the reseller, will help customer companies install a virus, spam and contenting filtering system on their email servers. Users, says Computacenter, can have complete confidence in SpheriQs performance and accuracy thanks to its clearly defined service level agreements. According to the reseller, SpheriQ has gone through Computacenter’s partner evaluation program and proven itself to be a valuable addition to the firm’s security offerings. Plans call for Computacenter to sell the service as both a standalone service and as part of larger security projects. Keith Ives, INSL’s managing director, said that Computacenter is well respected in the industry for delivering quality solutions and high level service. ‘The company is an ideal partner for us because of its broad expertise, focus on service delivery and commitment to finding the right solution for each and every customer.’
Azlan adds new reseller services
Azlan, the networking distributor, says it has added
no less than five new services for its IT security resellers. Simon Hill, the firm’s director of product distribution, said that the services have been launched to give resellers the ability to address all potential opportunities in the security market. ‘These services give partners that have no in-depth expertise in the security market the ability to add-value and compete for services
business that would otherwise be beyond their capabilities.’
The new services available to resellers include client computer system penetration testing; security awareness workshops; security evaluation of customer systems; vulnerability testing and tailored security consultancy services.
Unipalm lands WebTrends disti of the year - again
Congratulations are in order again as Unipalm, the UK and Ireland distributor, has landed WebTrend’s Northern European
distributor of the year award. The award, says WebTrends, is in recognition of Unipalm’s success in distributing the firm’s products to resellers.
Rob Nash, Unipalm’s director of e-business, said that his firm has been giving a strong focus on WebTrends over the last 12 months and it is satisfying to have that focus recognised. ‘The Web analytics market is set to grow by 25 per cent this year and with WebTrends being the clear market leader, the opportunity is there for all our partners and resellers that operate in this space. We intend to help them grow their WebTrends revenue and skills by offering them full and continued support.’
DMSL, www.dmsluk.co.uk;
AVG, +44-1636-700496, www.avguk.com;
Computer 2000, +44-870-4010505, www.computer2000.co.uk;
Ciphertrust, +44-870-9905516, www.ciphertrust.com;
INSL, +44-1491-820900, www.insl.co.uk;
Azlan, +44-118-9777777, www.azlan.co.uk;
Unipalm, +44-1638-569600,
www.unipalm.co.uk.
Steve Gold (sg@mail.com)