Viglen closing sales gap with Dell

System builder has set its sights on the number one spot in the public sector hardware space

Doing the honours: Viglen is close behind Dell in the further and higher education hardware space according to government figures

Bullish system builder Viglen is snapping at Dell’s heels in the public sector hardware space, according to government figures.

Numbers compiled by the Inter-Regional Desktop Agreement (IRDA), which oversees the procurement process in the UK higher and further education sector, showed Viglen products accounted for 29 per cent of the total IRDA spend from August 2007 to July 2008, compared to Dell’s 37 per cent.

Viglen made £16m in sales to the sector compared with Dell’s £20m. Third-placed RM accounted for 21 per cent of the market with £11m in sales.

Bordan Tkachuk, chief executive of Viglen, said the success was down to its decision to focus on one sector, rather than being a jack-of-all-trades.

“We decided to become a master of our trade and focus on building bespoke systems for education and the private sector. This has really paid off,” he said. “Our shipments have increased 25 per cent year on year, and we are acquiring new public sector customers all the time.”

Viglen also recently won a £30m contract with government buying agency OGC 10 to supply PCs and notebooks to 48 councils and hospitals across the UK.

Dell was not available for comment as CRN went to press.