ATI offers training and support for ATM Vars

Allied Telesyn International will recruit direct Vars to sell its emerging ATM technology and is setting up a European ATM training and support centre to serve them.

Distributors, such as UK partners Anixter, Frontline and Micro P, will not have access to ATM products and will be restricted to dealing with the high-volume, low-margin commodity market. ATI also plans to implement a training and accreditation programme in the second half of this year.

Ernie Jones, MD for ATI Northern Europe, said co-op funds would not initially be considered, as the usual range of two to five per cent would be minimal on such a low-volume product. ?We need to give more of a commitment to these Vars and will therefore look at individual cases on a project by project basis,? he said.

?They will also receive technical expertise, on-site support and evaluation equipment.? ATI direct Vars will still have to buy all products other than ATM kit through distributors.

The ATM ?centre of excellence? will be based in Germany and headed by Gerhard Wieser, who is recruiting support and training staff. The four European MDs ? Jones, Philippe de Moras, Francesco Stramezzi and Ruediger Meisenburg ? have also set up a European council to share common business practices and marketing ideas, while retaining an awareness of the different markets within Europe.

ATI announced a range of ATM products last week, including a 2.5Gbps switch, an adaptor card and Lan emulation service software.

ATI founder and chairman Takayoshi Oshima told a dealer conference last week that ATI plans to float on the US stock market within the next 18 months.