European distributor extends FalconStor's reach into UK |
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By Antony Adshead, UK bureau chief
11 Feb 2008 | SearchStorage.co.uk |
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European IT distributor, Magirus has extended its distribution agreement with storage management software company FalconStor Software to cover the UK market in a move welcomed by resellers.
John Woolley, sales and marketing manager with Cristie Data Products - a reseller with a direct relationship with Falconstor - says, "It's a really good thing for the market. Even though we have a direct relationship with the vendor it is good that Magirus is throwing its weight behind FalconStor. It is often difficult to get the message out there and the more people are talking about them the more all resellers will benefit."
Magirus – which also partners with EMC, Datacore, HP and VMWare – has expanded its existing relationship with FalconStor from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to cover the UK, France, Italy and Spain.
The move is the latest attempt by Magirus's to shake off its past selling high-end Unix servers to focus on the more lucrative storage and virtualisation software market, says Alastair Edwards, senior analyst with Canalys.
"Magirus is trying to create a complementary portfolio of products allied with consulting that can tap into the way the market is heading, and this can only be good for resellers in terms of new opportunities and support," he says.
This strategy follows the sale of Magirus' HP and IBM server business to Avnet last autumn which was a reaction to the wider market context of falling margins for Unix boxes caused by the rise of x86 hardware.
According to Edwards, Magirus's response is a bold one.
"Magirus is making a transition from having been a distributor of high end proprietary servers, for which the market has faded, towards a focus on …storage and virtualisation software and services," he says.
"Magirus is one of the leaders in terms of evolving its business, although that's out of necessity really. It is a much smaller operation than the likes of US giants Arrow and Avnet and its strategy of staying one step ahead of them is to compete by creating relationships with its resellers that are founded on intensively supporting complex solutions rather than their approach of shifting lots of kit," he adds.
Magirus' solutions marketing programme for UK resellers will comprise accreditation, training and access to FalconStor technical support; a business development scheme that allows resellers to register customer leads in return for bid support; tele- and email marketing lead generation plus participation in Magirus's forthcoming partner road show featuring an overview of the FalconStor portfolio and demonstrations.
Andrew Binding, vice-president for northern Europe at Magirus, says, "Storage virtualisation represents a golden opportunity for resellers to help medium and large sized customers build a highly-efficient storage solution while reducing costs, which is key in the current economic climate."
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