Basilica joins BTIC after its consolidation

BT Indirect Channels (BTIC) has appointed Basilica as its first reseller

BT Indirect Channels (BTIC) has appointed Basilica as its first reseller since announcing the consolidation of its channel operation. The vendor has also hinted that more hardware and software resellers could be recruited, despite mounting confusion over the firm’s channel plans.

The firm announced last month that BTIC and BT Local Business will be consolidated into a single ‘partner management business’ within BT Business (CRN, 22 August), which will come into effect in October. A new name for the group has yet to be decided.

Lorna McPherson, general manager of sales for BTIC, said the combination of BT and Basilica will help both firms take market share.

“Our traditional partners are from voice, but we hope to get a broad mix of resellers. Now Basilica can offer a wider range of BT products,” McPherson said.

She refuted claims that BTIC could be moving away from traditional voice resellers and stated that the firm is always looking to assess other options.

“We are still recruiting partners and will sign more over the next couple of weeks. There are different partners coming in, but we are still looking at the traditional voice resellers,” she said

Rob Sanghera, infrastructure services manager at Basilica, which has traditionally provided hardware from Hewlett-Packard and IBM, said: “The move consolidates our existing portfolio and gives us a more concise solution. It was driven by the demand in the marketplace and works well with our current customer base.”

John Carter, managing director of BT distributor DMSL, said the move could be positive, but added that the true outlook for BTIC is still unclear.

“BTIC is committing more feet to the street, which is a real benefit for the channel. We are still waiting to see what they come out with, but they need the channel more than ever before,” he said.

Carter said that with the size of the UK SME sector, local resellers will still play a pivotal role in the future of the telecoms giant.