ZyXel and EntaTech join forces

Jon Atherton: We are going to be able to bring a lot of business to the table [for Zyxel]

After a year of tentative conversations, networking vendor ZyXel has signed distributor EntaTech to help it broaden its market reach.

The two firms claimed part of the reason their partnership will flourish is because they are both Taiwanese companies that share the same customer-focused culture.
As a result of the deal, Enta will distribute Zyxel’s entire portfolio of SME and enterprise products including wireless LAN UTM firewalls, xDSL, storage and switches and its consumer Digital Home range.

Lee Marsden, UK country manager at Zyxel, said the partnership will have no impact on the vendor’s other distributors Micro P, Computer 2000, Comtec and Electronic Frontier.

“We have service provider, SME and consumer-focused distributors,” he said. “We have seen a 20 per cent growth in our SME business and as a result have made changes to our partner programme and gained great traction in the channel.

“We wanted to expand that further and were looking for breadth in the channel and needed a partner that could continue that SME growth,” Marsden added. “We have been talking to Enta for some time and decided that now was the right time to sign them. Because we are both Taiwanese companies there is also a great cultural fit.”

Jon Atherton, marketing director at Enta said the relationship would be ‘proactive’ on Enta’s side.

“Enta is still growing and employing new sales people and a lot of manufacturers need a proactive distribution partner like us. There are a number of distributors out there that have plenty of brands and brands like ZyXel don’t always have the floor time. We can give them the attention they need. With our status in the SME channel we are going to be able to bring a lot of business to the table.”