C2000 frozen out of Sun partner scheme

Exclusive - Negotiations with Sun/Netscape Alliance collapse due to consolidated structure.

Computer 2000 has ditched plans to distribute products for theue to consolidated structure. Sun/Netscape Alliance, claiming that the restructured policy left it with too small a slice of the business.

C2000, which was the exclusive UK distributor for Sun's Software and Technology division, has been locked in talks with the vendor since the Sun/Netscape Alliance was unveiled in November 1998.

But negotiations collapsed last week after Sun said products that were in the SunSoft portfolio would move to its hardware and computer systems division, which is handled by Sun's direct sales force and its UK master reseller ICL Multivendor Computing (ICLMC). This leaves Alliance partners with high-end, low-volume e-commerce products such as Net Dynamics.

Tony Stirrup, enterprise software manager at C2000, said: 'Whatever volume there was has been cut out of the alliance and has gone back to Sun's computer systems group. What was left isn't big enough for our level of business and it effectively leaves us with nothing on the software side.

'I'm not unhappy from the alliance standpoint, but Sun seems to be missing out on an established UK channel. It has taken us a long time to get here and our customers are unhappy that they have no alternative to ICLMC,' he added.

But Stirrup insisted the split was a mutual decision.

Simon Welch, Sun business unit manager at ICLMC, denied that the move would reduce reseller choice.

'It would only become an issue if we weren't good at what we do. We're not complacent but we have more focus from Sun and are now playing properly in this area.'

Mark Norman, managing director of Unipalm, said: 'I can understand why they are going their separate ways. Alliance products don't benefit from a volume model.'

A representative for the Sun/Netscape Alliance said: 'We don't see the value of a third distributor in the UK.'

SUN GOES THE PAN-EUROPEAN ROUTE

Sun Microsystems will reduce the number of distributors holding stock and focus on pan-European distributors as part of its move to harmonise Ts&Cs across the region.

Jim Hassell, partner sales director at Sun, told PC Dealer that the move would cut costs and give distributors more of an opportunity to concentrate on customers.

'We have about 35 distributors across EMEA holding stock and that's expensive and inefficient. We want to reduce the numbers holding stock and get those that are to widen out and become pan-European.'

Hassell denied that the move would cut out Sun's distributors. 'We want fewer distributors doing inventory and more doing partner management.

There will be a role for existing partners and we're not planning on axing anyone,' he said.