VARs set to capitalise on Sun volume focus

John Taylor: Sun is re-energising itself as a true volume player

Sun’s restructuring drive and renewed focus on volume systems will create a double opportunity for the vendor’s channel in 2009.

That is the message from Sun distributor Interface Solutions, which is this month launching a roadshow to help support its goal of recruiting 100 Sun resellers in 18 months.

Late last year, Sun announced it would slash a further 5,000 to 6,000 jobs globally. Some 130 staff at its Linlithgow plant in Scotland will be among the UK casualties.

But John Taylor, who joined Interface in August to head up its new Sun business unit, said the vendor would need to call on the channel for more assistance this year.

“Sun is re-energising itself as a true volume player and any volume player needs a channel to provide them with more coverage,” he said.

“If you couple that with the cuts it is making inside the business ­ meaning they need to do more with less ­ it is a double opportunity.”

Despite admitting that resellers may be concerned by Sun’s financial position, Taylor claimed there is a wealth of HP, IBM and Dell partners ready to be converted.

“When they understand what is beneath Sun’s figures and that it has a healthy, growing volume business and wants to continue outsourcing coverage to the channel, those concerns will be very quickly laid to rest,” he said.

“Sun’s x86 product range is gaining real momentum. End users expect VARs to come back with an HP, IBM or Dell platform, but as resellers start to put Sun on the list they will start to differentiate themselves in what is a fairly undifferentiated market,” he said.

Interface now has 10 heads in its Sun team. “We are doubling quarter on quarter with Sun at the moment,” added Taylor. “This is because we are focusing on the areas where Sun is growing most quickly and where it is seeking new growth.”

Chris Atkins, head of product marketing at Sun Microsystems UK, confirmed the volume channel would be a push area for the vendor in 2009. “The mid- to high-end Unix space we dominate is a static market.

“Companies like Interface offer us an opportunity to massively increase the number of partners we have in the x86 space, which is the fastest-growing market,” he said.