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19 Feb 2009
PC vendor Gateway claims simplicity is the key to its newly launched UK partner programme as its scouts for about 40 UK VARs to sell into the mid-market.
The Acer-owned company will be distributed in this country by Computer 2000. Partners will be recruited around geographical locations and vertical expertise.
Philip Ashkar will work for Gateway in a UK channel management capacity and will be assisted by one new recruit. Product management and pre- and post-sales support for the vendor's entire EMEA channel will be provided centrally from Manno in Switzerland.
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Gateway will be focused entirely on the commercial world and will not be developing consumer offerings or working with online resellers. The company claimed the simplicity of its product line-up and channel programme would appeal to VARs.
The Business First Partner Programme will have only one tier and will look to recruit between 35 and 40 partners per country. Ashkar indicated that he expected VARs outside the programme to be able to sell Gateway kit on a more ad hoc basis.
Ashkar claimed Gateway products could sit comfortably in the portfolio of a reseller selling HP or Lenovo and revealed he would be working with C2000 to identify possible recruits. "It is a simple partner programme," he said. "We will be focused on the quality of the partners."
The programme has been launched with Gateway's desktop and notebook products with servers, monitors and managed services coming into play during 2009's second quarter. EMEA division director Antonio Papale claimed his company would have only three or four SKUs per product category.
"Our product portfolio will be limited," he said. "We want to focus on offering what this market needs. We will be targeting traditional dealers. The difference between us and our competitors is that our partner programme will be very simple and effective."
Partners will benefit from a partner portal, partner council and a simplified reward structure. "Limited numbers of resellers means limited competition and more opportunity to make margin," said Papale.
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