Colt hails cautious recruitment plan

Carrier claims carefully-considered partner plans have reaped rewards

After unveiling serviced office specialist Flexioffices as its latest reseller recruit, carrier Colt has claimed a more considered approach to partner acquisition is helping it to enjoy a solid 2008.

Andy Horn, head of Colt’s SME division, revealed his company used to work with about 400 UK partners of varying descriptions, but that number has now been trimmed to about 100. Horn claimed he was still actively recruiting, but now takes a more prudent approach.

“We just had to tidy up the channel. I said earlier this year that I wanted 12-15 new partners and I may well go over that. We have actively recruited a number of data and managed services resellers,” he said.

Colt’s turnover for the first six months of the year was down one per cent annually to €835.6m (£661m) while operating profit rose by 38 per cent to €34.4m. Horn claimed the IT market is still in robust shape.

“We are very pleased with these figures,” he said. “IT is seen as a competitive advantage, rather than a cost, and I have not seen a massive impact to date. The largest corporate accounts are being hit more than the mid-market.”

Paul Slinn, managing director of Flexioffices, said that prior to signing as a Colt partner, a number of his customers were already using Colt products.

“We were impressed by Colt and by its reputation,” he said. “We went out and did some test meetings with Colt and the feedback was incredibly positive; we are very excited.”