Consultation is the key to preventing price war

Symantec unveils a platform for VARs to sell in a move towards a more value added sale

Kevin Bailey, senior manager of product marketing for EMEA at Symantec

Resellers must take a consultative approach to storage to prevent price wars, according to vendor Symantec.
The firm, which recently kicked off its Storage United initiative, said VARs have welcomed the move towards a more value added sale.
Kevin Bailey, senior manager of product marketing for EMEA at Symantec, said Storage United is aimed at providing an entire platform for VARs to sell, rather than a point-to-point product.
“Storage United is like a wrapper, but it is what’s inside that counts. Ours is a software-only platform, so resellers can maintain independence on the hardware platform.”
He said the vendor has launched the NetBackup Platform, which includes Veritas Backup Reporter, NetBackup, Veritas Pure disk and Enterprise Vault.
“Having this protective data storage, alongside education and training under United means resellers will not leave anything on the table.”
He added resellers have to be accredited to sell under United, but storage products are likely to become more commoditised. “VARs need to take a consultancy approach to prevent price wars.”
But Troy Platts, managing director of Symantec Silver partner Nexstor, said: “Symantec expects a lot. To be accredited we had to invest thousands of pounds to be an extension of its sales force. We don’t get a lot in return or any margin protection.
“There is already a price war and Symantec would be better off giving its VARs more support in terms of
a deal registration scheme, which would help to foster more loyalty.”

Further reading
Symantec signs NetBackup 6.5 for Storage United