Intel looks to sign up web specialists

Intel is trying to recruit Web integrators into a new channel programme with the aim of persuading them to use more of its processors.

Intel's ebusiness solutions provider programme will provide companies that specialise in ecommerce applications with technical resources and a partnering scheme to put them in touch with other channel companies.

Sharad Ghandi, director of Intel's content group, said Intel's close relationships with ecommerce application developers has given the vendor a great deal of skill to pass on to the channel.

"We have developed expertise beyond our core business of manufacturing processors, and we can help web integrators to understand how a system will perform. We hope that this will make them more inclined to use Intel's platforms," he said.

Matthew Woolf, technical director at Razorfish, said his that priority was to remain vendor-independent, so Intel would have to tread a fine line between providing technical assistance when needed and trying to turn web integrators into resellers. "If Intel has come up with something that improves on the current methods of system performance prediction we would be interested," he said.

Ghandi said that Intel could help with much more than determining how many processors any given system would need, but could offer expertise in all areas of infrastructure architecture, such as load-balancing switching.

"Web integrators would not get involved with Intel as a hardware supplier but as a partner who could help take away some of the work understanding how their applications will perform," he said.

So far only Agency.com has signed up to the scheme, but Ghandi said: "We're confident the top 100 web specialists will sign up. But recruiting partners isn't the issue - what to do after signing them is."

Intel intends to recruit independent software vendors and hardware manufacturers to develop a best practice framework and invest in co-operative marketing programmes.

• Intel has continued its push into the communications market with the acquisition of Voice Technologies Group, for an undisclosed sum. VTG develops call-routing technology.