Chronicle Solutions embraces channel
Network monitoring vendor turns back on direct model with plans to drive 90 per cent of business through reseller partners
Network monitoring vendor Chronicle Solutions is turning its back on a primarily direct model to drive 90 per cent of its revenue through the channel in the next 12 months.
The vendor will push its flagship offering, netReplay, a network content appliance that monitors, captures and text-indexes all user communications, including email, webmail, instant messenger, blogs and voice over IP.
Nick Kingsbury, chief executive of Chronicle Solutions, said: “We operate about 65 per cent direct and the rest through channel partners. In six months we want to be 75 per cent channel. Then in 12 months we will hopefully be 90 per cent channel.”
Kingsbury added that Chronicle is still an early stage company that has some flagship accounts, but it is keen to use the channel to expand its customer base.
“We work directly with resellers,” he said. “We have three active VARs and another three we’ve signed agreements with. We know we have a strong product for the channel.”
Kingsbury added that Chronicle does not need a vast numbers of resellers. He said it will need in the region of 12 VARs that address different segments of the market.
“We have done a lot of work to ensure we have good sales support and marketing programmes for our VARs,” he said.
Ash Hussein, sales and marketing director at VAR Axial Systems, said: “Speaking to end-users, we feel there are massive signs of demand for network content monitoring. However, there are a number of products that deliver it.”
Hussein added that it is possible for Chronicle to make such a large shift in channel business over 12 months, but the firm will have to draw up clear divides between its direct and channel sales operations.
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