Alcatel-Lucent vows to back VARs
Vendor's vice president highlights need to strengthen channel relationships
Alcatel-Lucent will address reseller disquiet by strengthening its channel and demand generation activities.
Doug Rodgers, UK and Ireland vice president for enterprise and verticals at the vendor, said: “Arguably, our competitors have stronger channels to reach the marketplace. We need to strengthen our channel relationships.”
Rodgers said Alcatel-Lucent has stepped up its end-user marketing activities in its key verticals by two- to three-fold in the past 18 months.
However, Martin Ratcliff, business development director at Alcatel-Lucent VAR Amilan, complained that the vendor has yet to clarify its post-merger strategy for the UK.
“We’re waiting for action on strategy and policy around developing Alcatel-Lucent in the UK,” he said.
But John Massey, managing director of VAR Actimax, said: “Alcatel-Lucent now has a channel, marketing and product strategy, so there’s nothing else we need to know.”
In related news, Alcatel-Lucent has reported double-digit percentage growth for its UK enterprise distribution business during the first half of 2007, which it attributed to its deepening partnership with convergence distribution partner Sphinx.