Alcatel-Lucent issues data war-cry

Networking vendor throws down the gauntlet to rivals

Alcatel-Lucent is preparing to do battle with Cisco, 3Com and Extreme Networks after signing Westcon Group to distribute its full range of data products in the UK.

Graeme Allan, country manager for enterprise at Alcatel-Lucent UK and Ireland, admitted the vendor currently has minimal coverage of the UK data sector, but said he wanted to extend that “dramatically”.

“Westcon will be our first focused data distributor in the UK,” he told CRN. “We will work closely with Westcon to target 3Com and Extreme resellers as there are a lot of weaknesses in their portfolios that Alcatel-Lucent can pitch to.”

Allan added that Alcatel-Lucent would not shy away from taking on market heavyweight Cisco. “A lot of resellers go with Cisco as a default bid,” he said. “We want to ensure the channel is aware there is a very strong global player with equivalent technology at a much better price point.”

Allan said Westcon would form the backbone of Alcatel-Lucent’s UK distribution network alongside Sphinx, which was recently appointed to carry its voice portfolio (CRN, 15 January).

He added that the vendor is putting together a dedicated four-man team inside Westcon charged with recruiting four to six data resellers this year.

However, Simon Thompson, UK sales director at Westcon, said the networking distributor would be careful to avoid cannibalising its existing vendor franchises. “My strategy is not to displace anything I currently sell,” he stressed. “Analysts always advise that resellers should have alternative offerings and Alcatel-Lucent is a very viable alternative.”

Mark Hatton, managing director at Sphinx, said he would also have access to Alcatel-Lucent’s data portfolio from next month. “But rather than pushing into data we want to push Alcatel-Lucent’s voice and data solutions combined,” he emphasised.