All pulling together

With just a little vendor imagination, resellers can be guaranteed new sources of revenue streams, writes Sara Yirrell

IBM’s announcement last week that it was launching a ServicePac aimed at rival HP’s business was an interesting one.

The vendor admitted that it has lost ground in the server space, so the best way for it to regain that ground is to attack its rival’s installed base with a money-saving alternative.

This is great news for IBM’s channel partners, because it means they have another string to their bow and can also go after new and existing customers with an expanded offering.

It is initiatives like this that make all the difference to the resellers and distributors that are suffering from a static market.

It is great to see vendors actually taking the lead and looking at ways to make both themselves and their partners money.

The scheme is a perfect example of the channel working together and fits in nicely with the third question of the CRN Channel Debate launched last week: Do vendors, distributors and resellers share the same goals? How can they better work together?

We also have a poll on the same subject, which I hope will attract lots of votes. All the data gathered from the Channel Debate will be used at a CRN face-to-face event in October.

We are keen to hear everyone’s views on this question, and the CRN microsite will be updated regularly with videos, articles and comments.

To leave your thoughts, visit the Debate at: http://debate3.channelweb.co.uk/

Sara Yirrell is editor of CRN. Email her at [email protected]