PineApp seeks mid-market resellers

Steve Cornish: We want to work on brand awareness with mid-market resellers.

Email and content security vendor PineApp has appointed its first Irish distributor and is launching a midmarket reseller recruitment drive.

The Israel-based vendor has admitted that its progress in the brand-conscious mid-market has been sluggish since it opened a UK office in February, but is willing to back pioneering VARs with marketing funds.

Meanwhile, PineApp has signed up distributor Renaissance to build an Irish channel and is considering a distribution shake-up in the UK, where it works through C-MI Labs.

Steve Cornish, UK sales and marketing director at PineApp, said the vendor had enjoyed success with large corporates, which tend to buy based on performance, and firms with 50 to 75 seats, which buy on local dealer’s recommendations.

“Next year we will target a lot more marketing at firms with 200 to 500 seats and will focus on mid-market resellers, working with them through co-operative marketing to develop brand awareness,” he said.

Cornish argued PineApp can offer mid-market resellers superior support to rivals that have recently been bought by larger vendors, such as IronPort and CipherTrust.

“The sophistication of our products is up there with IronPort and Clearswift, but we offer the technology to firms with 200 to 400 users at a price they can afford,” he said.

Renaissance, which works with 80 Irish resellers, already carries content security software vendor Marshal. Director Michael Conway said PineApp would allow the distributor to offer an appliance-based alternative.

“PineApp products suit the Irish market. A lot of Irish firms have 50 users and PineApp hits that space,” Conway added.