Trend Micro levels playing field for Blue Solutions

Blue Solutions has bagged a contract extension with Trend Micro as it looks to re-invent itself as the distributor of choice for managed service providers.

Trend Micro has granted Blue Solutions the right to sell to up to 1,000 users. This gives the distributor access to its Deep Security virtualisation security offering for the first time.

Blue Solutions was previously restricted to 250 users or fewer, which it said put it at a disadvantage to rival Ingram Micro, which negotiated a similar increase in its contract 18 months ago.

Blue Solutions had a 53 per cent share of Trend Micro's Worry Free SME business last year, according to the distributor's co-founder Mark Charleton.

"This opens us up to bigger customers and means we are not having to turn business away," he said.

Trend Micro's global bosses recently moved to overhaul the UK operation amid concerns it was punching below its weight in comparison with other territories. The UK is now being run as a separate business unit and the new sales structure will have a greater emphasis on large enterprises.

Charleton welcomed the changes.

"The UK not being tied to EMEA makes everything easier to sign off," he said.

"Last year, Trend spent a lot of money on consumer – I believe more than its competitors put together – and now they have a top-down approach where they are feeding the enterprise. We are in the middle, and will benefit from that."

Blue Solutions' headcount roughly halved to 15 to 20 between 2008 and last year but Charleton said the distributor is recruiting again as it looks to transform itself into a managed services specialist.

It currently sells managed services solutions from Trend and Doyenz but will add further options in the security, backup, recovery and remote monitoring and management space over the coming months.

"We reckon that about 30 to 35 per cent of our current database [of 2,500 to 3,000 resellers] is selling some kind of managed services," said Charleton.

"Part of our value will be educating the old-fashioned system builders, independent resellers and VARs as to how they need to transition their business to a monthly service offering."