Arista takes aim at UK channel

Switching vendor embarks on UK channel drive with distributor Consolidate IT after recruitment frenzy

Keith Humphreys: Arista will need to define the market that it will aim for

After nabbing two former Cisco executives to lead the company, ambitious switching vendor Arista is hoping to ruffle the feathers of the market’s dominant players.

Newly appointed Arista chief executive Jayshree Ullal left her post as senior vice president of Cisco’s Datacenter, Switching and Services Group earlier this year.

Her role will include working alongside chairman Andreas Bechtolsheim, who co-founded Sun Microsystems and, until 2003, served as vice president of Cisco’s Gigabit Systems Business Unit.
Consolidate IT is the vendor’s European distributor. Chief executive Jur Faber revealed he had been looking to add a 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch to his company’s portfolio.

“Arista had the complete solution we were looking for,” he said. “Larger companies are not developing innovative new technologies, but smaller companies can.”

The distributor opened UK offices in May and is looking to build a UK channel for Arista. “Cisco resellers are not happy because they are not making margin,” said Faber.

“The size or background of resellers is not that important ­ we want innovators.”
Faber also revealed Arista hoped to have a worldwide turnover this year of $20m (£12.3m).
Keith Humphreys, managing consultant for analyst EuroLAN, claimed Arista could give the market’s larger vendors food for thought.

“I am sure Cisco is concerned about losing some of its talent and intellectual property,” he said. “Arista now needs to define the market it is going for and not just live off other vendors’ crumbs.”