Cisco UK channel chief outlines 2009 strategy

Bernadette Wightman: We are trying to change the channel landscape

Cisco’s UK channel chief is aiming to help VARs through a testing 2009 by focusing on offering financial assistance and tackling the grey market head-on.

Bernadette Wightman took over the role as UK and Ireland channel managing director at the start of August. She told CRN that she had set herself a target of meeting five partners a week across all tiers of the vendor’s channel programme.

“For the past four months I have been trying to spend time listening,” she said. “We are trying to change the channel landscape; I am passionate about getting closer to partners and want to approach their business from a position of understanding.”

Wightman claimed helping partners weather the economic conditions was vital. She revealed a number of packages to help VARs would be launched next year, but remained tight-lipped on whether these might include increased credit lines and credit terms.

Setting priorities
“One of the biggest things I am hearing from partners is [concerns] over liquidity,” she said. “We do have some packages for the channel, including a zero per cent financing offering and we are reducing some of our pricing through distribution. We also do funding for large tenders where we work on tenders with our partners and fund them together.”

Another priority earmarked for Cisco’s UK channel is tackling grey market and counterfeit activity. The vendor is currently targeting an advertising campaign at end users to discourage them from buying through unauthorised resellers.

Neil Sheridan, Cisco’s director of brand protection for emerging markets, said: “Our priority next year is going to be addressing the unauthorised market. It is about education and awareness and getting the message out there about the risk of buy ing through unauthorised channels.”

Seal of authority
Sheridan claimed his preferred course of action was to accommodate unauthorised resellers within the vendor’s channel programme.

“I have a case at the moment where the broker has taken certain undertakings and agreed to invest in our infrastructure,” he said.

He indicated that when an unauthorised broker was unwilling to become part of the authorised channel, Cisco would focus on helping partners compete against it.

“In that situation, the only course of action is to identify the market that broker is addressing and make sure we are effectively competing with it using our authorised channel,” said Sheridan.

Tom Kelly, managing director of Cisco Gold Partner Logicalis, would like to see firms that sell unauthorised, counterfeit and grey market kit made an example of.

“The kit is out there and tends to be on the lower end of the market,” he said. “I hope that if they do find people they deal with them. One of the best ways is to let it be known in the press.”

Jane Tingle, Cisco’s director of brand protection for Europe, insisted Cisco took a tough line with firms selling counterfeit goods.

“Cisco has taken brand protection seriously for a number of years,” she said. “Each case stands on its own and it depends if it is systematic or a one-off, but we take counterfeiting very seriously and if we find an importer, we will take legal action.”