IBM picks ISI to reach SMEs

Interface Solutions International has secured the rights to carry IBM's range of personal systems group hardware as part of the vendor's push into the small to medium sized enterprise market.

Interface Solutions International (ISI) has secured the rights to carry IBM's range of personal systems group hardware as part of the vendor's push into the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) market.

ISI already distributes the IBM printer range but the latest appointment covers notebooks, PCs, Netfinity servers and monitors. Paul Fusi, UK channel sales manager at IBM, said: "We have chosen this distributor to sell into the SME market because it has a strong foothold in the corporate sector."

IBM uses other distributors such as Ingram Micro, Northamber and CCD for the personal systems group range, he said. "The SME sector in particular is growing rapidly. We want to make sure we get that extra bit of coverage."

Due to the increase in IBM business, ISI has opened new offices in Warrington, along with those in Birmingham and Slough.

Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens, ISI marketing co-ordinator, said the distributor will continue to sell to its reseller base, but has widened the product range for corporate customers. "We have also expanded our customer database since the move. We have a great team in our new Warrington office," she said.

"They know a lot about the products and also have a lot of contacts, which certainly helps. So far, this announcement has been received very well by all our customers, and we are really pleased with the way it is going," she added.

The deal was announced just one week after Ken Batty, personal systems group marketing manager at IBM, claimed that distributors are not promoting the vendor's products enough in the lower end of the SME market.

But Darren Seward, UK manager at VentureTech, a specialised SME business division owned by Ingram Micro, claimed that the distributor is doing all it can to appeal to all SMEs.

"Ingram is heavily committed to servicing the needs of the SME reseller as well as our vendors that target this market," he said. "This is why we have a dedicated SME business unit and a sales team to assist these resellers."

"It can be said that most small businesses fall into two categories: those that know what they want, and those that are not quite familiar with certain technologies and rely on the reseller to provide a solution to their business needs," he added.