Ipswitch set sights on UK WebVar

Software US company chooses Unipalm as its distributor for its move into the domestic market.

Ipswitch, a US-based internet software company, has waded into the UKnto the domestic market. channel with the appointment of its first distributor Unipalm, which will initiate the vendor's WebVar project.

The core products for Ipswitch are internet software systems for messaging, network monitoring and FTP. Unipalm will oversee the introduction of Ipswitch's WebVar e-commerce project in the UK. The project offers a reseller a store front on the Web for transactions. Any product can be displayed on the site as long as it is not a direct competitor to Ipswitch.

Roger Greene, president of Ipswitch, said: 'This is our first move into the UK and we have appointed Unipalm as our distributor. We have established operations in Europe and the US. At present there are 600 WebVars, and that is in less than a year since the project started.'

An added incentive for the reseller is that it gets a 25 per cent commission on Ipswitch products sold via its site. But, the main value to the reseller will be the auto lead generation.

Roman Kichorowsky, director of marketing communications at Ipswitch, admitted the advantages of the WebVar project would not be the provision of revenue from the commissions paid, but from the leads for consultancy and services.

He added: 'We were looking for a distributor and for resellers that focus on the SME market and have knowledge and commitment to the internet and e-commerce.'

The UK is the latest market to be targeted. In the US, the company uses Tech Data as its sole distributor, but rejected adopting Computer 2000 in Europe claiming it was not a good fit.