BackWeb crosses pond to channel

BackWeb Technologies has plunged into the UK channel, setting up a network of five resellers and appointing Unipalm as its UK distributor.

The US internet knowledge management company focuses on managing data and using internet push technology for delivery.

The resellers appointed were AppliedNet, Digital Quills, FernHart New Media, Hughes Rae and TDS. They will focus on vertical markets, ranging from finance and pharmaceuticals to intranet and search engine applications.

BackWeb intends to appoint a further five Vars in the course of the next three months.

James Symington, head of BackWeb UK, commented: 'This signals that we are a channel company. Unipalm is skilled at educating and supporting Vars, and the five Vars we have appointed are experts in their fields. We will appoint more, especially if they have experience in the banking industry or of Lotus.'

Gary Shaw, managing director of Hughes Rae, said: 'The amount of information a company has to deal with today is immense. One of our clients had an intranet with 10,000 pages. BackWeb allows us to focus on the needs of the end-user and provide exactly the information that is needed.'

His comments were echoed by Mark Norman, managing director of Unipalm, who said: 'As more companies strive to select critical information from walls of data and deliver it to those people who need it, this technology will become essential.'