Siemens cements relations with Computacenter in #10m deal

Siemens Nixdorf has received a boost to its credibility after the UK?s largest reseller, Computacenter, signed up to become a supplier for the vendor in a deal worth #10 million.

The two companies have been in business together for about 18 months, but Siemens? decision to go indirect spurred Computacenter to elevate its relationship with the vendor. Computacenter has become a preferred supplier of PC and server products for Siemens.

Martin Hellawell, general manager of corporate development and marketing at Computacenter, said: ?There has also been an increase in demand for Siemens products over the past six months.?

Siemens wants to put #10 million of its PC, notebook and Unix-based enterprise server business through Computacenter by the end of the year. The company is expecting total sales of #20 million this year.

The manufacturer claimed that about 100 per cent of its PCs are now sold indirect ? a complete turnaround from the almost entirely direct sales model of 18 months ago. This compares with about 70 per cent of its server business, which it hopes to push up to 100 per cent in the future.

In a bid to push more sales through the channel, Siemens plans to sign up Datrontech as a distributor for its PC lines this week. Peter Jones, general manager of Siemens UK PC unit, insisted there would be no clash between manufacturer and channel despite the fact that the manufacturer was increasing its sales team.