Novell has signed a distribution deal with Avnet Technology Solutions, as part of the vendor’s refocused channel strategy.

Under the UK agreement, Avnet will distribute Novell’s entire portfolio of datacentre, identity and security management, and end-user computing solutions.

Avnet’s resellers are set to benefit from Novell’s portfolio of Linux and IT management software, including Platespin, Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, Novell Identity Manager, Novell ZenWorks and Novell GroupWise.

Dan Veitkus, vice president of partners and channels at Novell EMEA, said: “The agreement with Avnet underscores Novell's focus on ensuring it has the right distributors in the UK.

“In fact, Novell has committed to rationalising the number of authorised value-added distributors (VADs) in the UK and Ireland to support our focus on quality over quantity.”

Veitkus said distributors and partners will need to meet agreed performance, recruitment and customer satisfaction criteria, as well as commit to specialisation of skills.

“Novell in turn will be making deliberate investments in our selected VADs. By having a more focused and specialised distribution channel, Novell will be able to provide more support and resources to help distributors, partners and ultimately Novell's customers, resulting in greater business benefits to all,” he added.

Avnet will dedicate its team to manage its relationship with Novell, in addition to as a competency centre to recruit, train and support resellers and solution providers with the integration of Novell solutions

Sukh Rayat, senior vice president of Avnet Technology Solutions, EMEA, said: “Novell’s software solutions complement Avnet's existing desktop and datacentre portfolio due to their platform agnostic nature. By bringing together our two companies with a common vision, we are able to accelerate innovation and further enhance our solutions portfolio.

“This is a good strategic fit for Avnet that will add significant value to our channel, as our business partners will be able to source more complete, integral hardware and software solutions from a single trusted source. This is a clear win for Avnet and our partners.”