Panda Software eyes UK growth after channel restructure
Software vendor unveils plans to double its UK anti-virus business after signing distribution partner
Panda Software has completed its distribution restructure and is planning to make a significant impact on the UK anti-virus market in 2007 by doubling its business.
The vendor, which last year admitted it did not have the best track record with the UK channel (CRN, 25 August) has signed distributor Blue Solutions and will supply retail accounts through distribution instead of directly.
Panda, which counts Sophos, Kaspersky, McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro among its rivals, also works with distributors Interactive Ideas and Microtech 99 in the UK.
Speaking to CRN, Mark Watkinson, Panda UK country manager, said: “We have decided to go for a clearer channel model to avoid confusion and keep the trust of our partners. All our retail sales will now go through distribution and we have about 100 resellers that we deal with on a direct basis. Other more ad hoc resellers will be fulfilled through distribution.”
He added that the vendor is policing its channel more and if a VAR registers a deal, it will earn more margin. Additional initiatives on offer to partners include a larger channel facing team, more technical support and a lead generation/registration scheme.
The vendor has also launched its Trustlayer managed services suite to allow its partners to compete with established services players such as BlackSpider, which is now a division of SurfControl.
“We are looking to reward our channel partners above and beyond what the competition can offer,” Watkinson said. “We are the fourth largest anti-virus vendor in the world, but have been largely overlooked in the UK and we want this to change.”
However, Michael Breeze, marketing manager of Interactive Ideas, said: “We have heard this so many times before so I can only say I will believe it when I see it. Panda has an excellent product set, but it has found it difficult to crack the UK market because of the number of established players here already. It is a challenge for them. What we need now is proof that Panda is going to deliver on its channel promises.”
Panda Software planning 'significant' indirect channel changes