SMC looks to treble UK channel

Distribution to benefit from shake up as part of the vendor's plans

Rob Bamforth: Those entering the networking market need to specialise to gain a foothold

Vendor SMC Networks is hoping to make waves in the UK networking market by trebling its UK reseller base and bolstering its distribution line-up next year.

The Californian company historically enjoyed success in manufacturing network cards, but has branched out into a range of networking gear, including Wi-Fi, voice over IP (VoIP) and switching.

SMC works with distributors Auriga and Micro Peripherals and has 15 to 20 UK VARs.

But George Zervos, director for the UK and northern Europe, revealed he wants to grow his company’s channel to between 50 and 70 resellers, supported by at least two new distributors.

“We are talking to specialised distributors in the storage and server space, particularly those focused on the high end of the market,” he said.

Zervos claimed SMC was helped by the reputation of its Taiwanese backers, Accton Technology Corporation, but that he wanted to bring the UK channel up to speed on his company’s portfolio.

“A lot of the channel people know SMC as a network card player. We have good recognition, but people do not know where our product strategy is at the moment.”

Zervos claimed SMC’s technology could nestle into the portfolio of a reseller selling Cisco or Juniper.

“The UK is important for us and we have been looking for the right way to address it,” he said. “Our real bread and butter will be medium-sized resellers offering solutions into smaller enterprises.”

Rob Bamforth, a principal analyst at Quocirca, claimed ambitious entrants wishing to challenge the market’s dominant forces had to pick their fights.

“The key is to recognise that you are not equal and you cannot tackle them head-on. You have to specialise and attack where you have superior strength.”