Extricom targets UK education sector

Wireless LAN vendor plans to increase reach in education market with £1m grant fund

Wireless LAN (WLAN) vendor Extricom is aiming to gain a firmer toehold in the UK education sector with the launch of a new £1m annual grant system.

The vendor claims UK resellers will be first to benefit from the programme, which it has already introduced in its native US.

David Confalonieri, VP of marketing at Extricom, said: “The UK was a natural choice because we’ve had a raft of success in the education sector and have a handful of UK VARs that have really latched onto this vertical. This will make our VARs more competitive.”

The £1m fund is open to qualified educational institution throughout the UK.

“Education is a key vertical market for us,” continued Confalonieri. “Educational institutions have some significant demands in what they want to do with WLAN in areas such as voice over Wi-Fi, closed circuit TV and mobility.

“The fund will provide budget relief to institutions and raises our profile in the marketplace.”

Extricom has recently bagged deals with Washwood Heath in Birmingham, Fleetwood College in Lancashire, Rainford College and Bruton School.

Recent figures from market-watcher Synergy Research shows the total WLAN market swelled 15 per cent to $3.6bn in 2006. Cisco dominated the enterprise space, with Symbol, Aruba, 3Com and HP ProCurve rounding out the top five.

However, Confalonieri claimed Extricom, which works with UK distributors VComm and Selcoms, is growing “much faster” than the industry as a whole.