Staffware to double up VAR sales

UK-based business process management (BPM) software vendor Staffware is looking to double the amount of business it puts through the channel.

However, analysts have warned that the firm could still struggle to take market share.

John O'Connell, chief executive of Staffware, said the vendor is aiming to put half of its business through the channel.

"We are looking for resellers that are focused on vertical industries such as manufacturing, utilities and telecoms," he said.

Chris Phillips, the firm's chief marketing officer, said: "We tend to work with resellers that understand how to put a basic software infrastructure in place, with a focus on business-level processes, offering discounts for them to make their margins."

He added that the firm wants to capitalise on BPM's growing popularity and the knowledge and understanding of vertical industry resellers.

But Bob Tarzey, service director at analyst Quocirca, said: "There's less call for BPM in smaller businesses. Major vendors such as Microsoft, IBM and BEA are converging on it, and they own the application servers.

"Even if Staffware can position itself with a strong [channel] proposition, there's still a lot of pressure to [compete for resellers with] vendors such as IBM, Sage and Salesforce."

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