Colubris looks to Wi-Fi growth

Vendor revamps partner scheme to assist market growth

Gary Mead: Breaking into the established order with an alternative to Cisco.

Wireless LAN (WLAN) vendor Colubris Networks is hoping the emergence of 802.11n technology, coupled with a revamped partner programme, will help it break into new markets and increase its share of the wireless market.

The vendor launched an update of its advanced partner programme last week. Partners will be divided into three tiers and offered marketing funds and a deal registration scheme.

Vice president of international sales Gary Mead said: “We are looking for resellers with Wi-Fi experience to take us into new markets.”

Mead indicated he wanted to expand into finance, healthcare,
education and manufacturing. “We do not have a target figure of resellers to recruit; it is capability we are looking for,” he said.

Mead claimed the development of wireless 802.11n technology could be a boon for his company because unlike other vendors Colubris would not have to replace hardware when upgrading. “The challenge is breaking into the established order.

There is a group of resellers across the world that work with ABC ­ anyone but Cisco. We can provide an alternative to Cisco.”
WLAN vendor Meru Networks released an 802.11n product last month and EMEA vice president Dave Kelly believes his company could be another vendor to profit from the technology.

“We have been pushing this technology and there is good adoption of it. We believe the market will move to 11n and that plays to our technology,” he said.