Rocom is placing leasing at the heart of its business as it aims to shake off the perception that distributors are only good for shifting boxes.

The voice distributor plans to double its leasing team to six this year as it expands the suite of add-on services it offers resellers.
It is also poised to launch a training academy featuring basic courses on technology from major vendor partners such as Avaya, Nortel and Samsung.

Phil Hambly, sales and marketing director at Rocom, said he wanted the firm to be regarded as the ‘candy store’ of the voice channel.

“The argument some make against distributors is that they are just box shifters.
“Since we were acquired by ATC two years ago we have tried to build a complete support infrastructure for our resellers,” he said.

Hambly claimed Rocom had doubled its leasing business over the last 12 months, enabling it to gain better rates than VARs could directly.

“We are raising awareness that leasing effectively gives you unlimited credit and extends the dealer’s sales reach.
“It is something we have always done but now we are making it core to what we do,” he added.

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at analyst Eurolan, said: “Often large vendors such as IBM and Cisco forget they are just a small part of any project and offer leasing deals for just 20 per cent of a project, which is a non-starter.

“A distributor may be able to lease the vast majority of it, which makes it a sensible offer.”