Fasthost revamps its partner platform

Welcoming hand: Fasthosts is keen to welcome resellers to its revamped partner platform

Web-hosting goliath Fasthosts has revamped its platform for resellers and is creating a dedicated partner management team, as it looks to restore trust in the channel.

Fasthosts’ reputation took a knock in late 2007 after a security breach caused disruption among partners (Channelweb, 7 December, 2007).

Stephen Holford, chief marketing officer of Fasthosts Internet, said the firm had emerged stronger from the episode.

“It was a big inconvenience to a lot of resellers, but we did a firm security overhaul on the back of it and got our house fully in order,” he said.

The new platform is designed to make it easier for resellers to create and price bespoke packages for users.

Fasthosts claims to have 7,000 VAR and web-hosting provider partners in the UK, and Holford said the vendor is currently recruiting its first-ever team of dedicated partner managers.

“This is a bit of a shift for Fasthosts,” Holford said. “We recognised that we need to ensure we are there for partners to drive their business forward.”

Darren Bush, managing director of Fasthosts partner Tandem Software, said: “We have definitely noticed an improvement in the quality of technical support we get and the speed of resolving issues.”