Unipalm gives VARs direct reassurance
Distributor claims new Check Point initiative is not intended to affect reseller relationships with customers
Unipalm has been quick to reassure resellers that its latest Check Point support initiative is not a way of dealing directly with end-users.
The distributor last week unveiled its Enterprise Based Support (EBS) Renewals Service, which offers Check Point channel partners varying levels of support depending on their business models.
Under the EBS contract, end-users are provided with hot fixes, major upgrades and product enhancements.
David Caughtry, e-security product group manager at Unipalm, said the service will not compromise resellers’ relationships with customers.
“We want to offer this service to reseller regardless of their size or type of business. It basically takes away the administration costs and general overhead away from resellers and is about flexibility.
“Some resellers have been good at EBS, while some others have not. This service is just a way of ensuring that the end-user is up-to-date and has the latest versions of Check Point’s applications available to them.
“It is by no means a method of going direct to the end-user. Everything is done in consultation with resellers,” he said.
Viv Francis, EMEA channel manager at Check Point, said Unipalm was the first of its three distributors to take up the initiative.“This is brilliant for us. When a customer buys our product licences they have to be renewed on an annual basis. Over the past 12-18 months there has been a direct collation between customer satisfaction and EBS because some customers were not being proactively targeted by the channel,” she said.
“Unipalm has been listening to conversations we have been having and has launched a service that allows partners to make the choice on which support package, if any, to offer, particularly those that have not had the resources to do so before.”