Overland aims to woo lost VARs

Revamped channel programme is part of drive to improve vendor's fortunes after "rough patch"

Overland wants to reconnect with resellers it has lost contact with

Overland Storage has overhauled its partner programme in a bid to lure back resellers left disillusioned by the vendor’s channel approach in the past.

The new FastTrack programme features a reworked deal registration process and the promise of margins of up to 50 per cent on some Overland products.

Partners will also receive a wider range of marketing materials, quarterly product promotions and, depending on the level of business they do with the vendor, access to business development funds.

Andy Walsky, vice president of EMEA sales and marketing at Overland, said the programme is a vital part of the company’s overall turnaround strategy, following a run of disappointing financial results in recent years.

He said: “We have been through a rough patch and we are in the process of turning that around and striving to return to profitability.”

In Overland’s most recently published results, it was revealed that the company made a net loss of £1.7m in the three months to 31 December 2009.

This downturn in the company’s fortunes had resulted in a number of its resellers “falling away”, said Walsky, which it was now working hard to reconnect with.

He added: “The focus of the programme is on becoming a better and more compelling partner for our resellers to do business with, by making it easier for them to sell our products.”

Jason Beeson, solutions director at storage distributor Hammer, welcomed Overland’s more proactive approach to serving the needs of its reseller partners.
“Overland’s commitment

to the channel has once again been reinforced by the launch of its FastTrack partner programme, which will have multiple benefits for resellers and customers alike,” he claimed.