Cisilion targets datacentre space

Cisco VAR skills up with IBM

Morgan: Customers are asking us to provide full solutions

Cisilion has become the latest Cisco Gold partner to diversify from its networking roots by plotting an assault on the datacentre space with IBM.

Ninety-five per cent of Cisilion’s business is Cisco-centric, but it has joined Big Blue’s fast-track Accelerate programme in an effort to widen its repertoire.

Rob Morgan managing director at Cisilion, said: “Key Cisco partners such as Dimension Data and Logicalis offer complete solutions. This is what our customers are asking us to provide.”

Morgan stressed that the IBM partnership was still embryonic.

“If you look at the datacentre you need a server and storage proposition and IBM has the whole set,” he said.

Morgan added that Cisilion has recently taken on three managed services sales heads in response to some large contract wins. This includes former Cisco client director Simon Williams as sales manager.

Tom Kelly, UK managing director of Logicalis ­- which strengthened its IBM and HP proposition in 2006 by acquiring CSF Solutions -­ warned that cracking the datacentre is not easy.

“The cost and time to market will take longer than Cisilion perceives,” he said.