Sun pumps in £300m to create iForce
Sun has launched iForce, an initiative designed to create a community of partners that will provide dotcom solutions.
Sun has launched iForce, an initiative designed to create a community of partners that will provide dotcom solutions.
Sun plans to unite software vendors, service providers, resellers and web consultants to jointly market themselves to customers.
Scott McNealy, president of Sun, said: "The iForce initiative places dozens of programmes and services, designed to make the dotcom process easier, under one umbrella."
Sun will spend $300m (£188m) to help its partners market the scheme.
IForce will be introduced to Sun's UK partners at a meeting scheduled for today (Wednesday). Sun would not comment further at the time of going to press.
David Ogden, director in charge of Sun at Esteem Computers, said the programme sounds like it will be very important in terms of sales lead allocation. He said Esteem will consider joining up.
Computer Sciences has said it is to join the scheme and open a demonstration centre at its Farnborough offices. Sun also formally announced its eChannels initiative last week, introducing the value-based discount agreements Sun resellers having been piloting in the UK since last year. A proportion of partner discounts will be negotiated with Sun on a yearly basis, based on what value-add Sun recognises in the reseller.
Elsewhere, Sun's intention to take all customer orders over the web by the end of the year does not herald a move to direct net sales, said Rob Coleman, Sun's distribution marketing manager.
He said: "It simply means Sun wants to receive orders from distributors and resellers electronically."
Coleman added that the contract for UK logistics distribution partner would be signed soon. "I don't think it's any secret that it'll be Tplc," he said. Sun expects to name channel development distributors within two months.
- Tplc holds all the ACEs in new launch
- Tplc launched its application centre of excellence demonstration facility for resellers last week. As an alternative to bringing customers to the centre at Warrington, demos can be remotely accessed via preconfigured workstations which Tplc will offer to resellers on a rental basis. The service will include access to the RSun product configuration tool and Tplc's technical support call-logging software.