Linksys unveils second phase
Firm unveils partner portal and newsletter
Cisco subsidiary Linksys will launch the second phase of its channel scheme at the end of the month and has appointed Gem as a specialist retail distributor.
The networking vendor, which also partners with Northamber, Ingram Micro and Computer 2000 in the UK, unveiled its new channel programme in March. It offered partners extra discount points on products including switches, routers and home entertainment devices.
"The UK is a key region for us, and retail is a major market, because it shows our brand to the world," said David Kelly, director of sales EMEA at Linksys.
Under the second phase of the programme, Linksys will launch a dedicated partner portal to provide VARs with product and marketing collateral information and a bi-monthly newsletter.
David Hennell, commercial manager at Northamber, said Linksys is a "valuable" partner for the distributor. "It has aggressive growth plans and is putting more emphasis on logistics, sales and marketing in Europe; it already has dominance in the US. We are working very closely in helping it achieve that," he said.
"Although Cisco sees Linksys as the lower level of the SME I definitely see some of the products moving up into the mid-range as time goes by."