Ingram to carry Cisco products in the UK

Ingram Micro has named John Haverkate as its new European business manager for Cisco, despite denials from its UK division that it is to carry Cisco products in the UK.

Ingram Micro has named John Haverkate as its new European business manager for Cisco, despite denials from its UK division that it is to carry Cisco products in the UK.

The appointment has been mooted by insiders as an indication of future plans for UK distribution of Cisco products. Meinie Oldersma, vice president at Ingram Micro UK, told CRN last month that Ingram UK had no immediate plans to add Cisco to its network portfolio.

More recently, an Ingram Micro representative said: "It is a distinct long-term objective to add Cisco to our portfolio, and the appointment of John Haverkate in Europe will work towards this. He will be looking at all European countries where Ingram does not have a relationship with Cisco and he will be looking at building them."

Ingram Micro UK recently added high-end networking services to its offering. Anita Lussenburg, director of networking services at Ingram Micro Europe, said: "There will be more and more network resellers, and we are working hard to establish the right model in the UK."

According to some in the channel, the addition of Cisco to the UK portfolio is inevitable. Annabelle Hassell, marketing manager at Ciscom, a dedicated Cisco reseller, said: "I would say that with the inclusion of Cisco's products, Ingram will be able to offer its reseller customers a far more extensive range."

This is a strange U-turn for Cisco, according to Tracy Croft, managing director at Comstor, a specialist Cisco distributor. "Ingram had Cisco a couple of years ago in the UK, and I've heard from reliable Cisco sources that [it was] dropped," she said.

Another reseller questioned whether Ingram Micro had improved enough to be taken back by Cisco. "Ingram must have really come on a bundle in the last two years. Either that or the decision has been forced," he said.