Reseller drive to boost Pillar share

Pillar goes on the prowl for ‘quality' UK partners with systems integrator expertise

Pillar is owned and funded by Larry Ellison

Network storage vendor Pillar Data Systems is on the hunt for UK channel partners to bolster its market share.

The firm, which is owned and funded by Oracle chief Larry Ellison, stresses that the emphasis is on quality of partners, not quantity.

Adrian Groeneveld, EMEA marketing director at Pillar, which has eight UK resellers and works through Bell Micro and CMS Peripherals, said: “Our channel model has a two-pronged approach ­ first we want to make sure we have the geographical coverage across the UK; second, we want to make sure our partners have the right skill levels.

“The types of partner we look for are not traditional storage resellers but those with systems integrator skills or experience in building complete solutions. An average deal is worth about $250,000, so ours is quite a high-end model,” he said.

Groeneveld said the firm is seeing more enquiries from Sun partners due to confusion surrounding the Sun/Oracle merger. “Because of our indirect ties with Oracle, we have good IP that lends itself well to an Oracle environment,” he said.

He said Pillar hopes to take on a maximum of seven new partners over the next year, which will have access to Pillar’s partner portal and its deal registration scheme.

Mick Keeble, sales director at VAR Croft Technology, which is the latest addition to the Pillar stable, said the vendor fitted in with his business model.

“In our business we create data networks and comms networks, and storage is becoming a more important factor in those networks,” he said. “We wanted a product that would give clients what they needed. Pillar fitted the bill.

“Also, because it does not have loads of resellers, we will not be fighting for business and driving down the value proposition.”