WStore targets public sector push

Online reseller puts team in place to gain more public sector deals

Online VAR WStore has recruited a dedicated public sector sales team to spearhead its aggressive growth plans for the market.

The six-strong team will focus on three areas of government procurement: local government, the NHS and education. The move follows WStore winning coveted Catalist IT supplier status across five categories last year (CRN, 20 February 2006).

Stewart Hayward, commercial director at WStore, told CRN: “We have a specialist software team, but we wanted to invest in people with public-sector expertise. You can’t treat the public sector like a standard business – it takes a different type of account manager.”

He added that WStore plans to double the size of the team in the next few months.

Martin Day, representative at the Office of Government Commerce, said: “WStore realises that the public sector is a different landscape to the private sector. It has made a smart move in going out and recruiting people with public-sector experience.”

Ross Miller, managing director of VAR Trustmarque Solutions, which was also awarded Catalist supplier status last year, said: “We’re the largest software supplier to the government so we have a huge dedicated public sector team.”

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