Interface reveals Sun ambitions

Distributor targets more enterprise businesses

Matthew Gower: Sun's measure of success with be the CDP's ability to grow business

Distributor Interface Solutions is building up its dedicated Sun team to gain market share and help the vendor hone its channel message.

The firm recently hired John Taylor to head up its Sun business unit (Channelweb, 7 October), who revealed his job would be to build up Sun’s presence in the volume market with both its x86 and Sparc ranges. The distributor will also target more enterprise business.

“We are in a phase of re-engineering [Interface’s] Sun business and are bringing people in that are familiar with the Sun channel. We are creating a new team, which will go from being relatively small and
modest to relatively large,” he said.

Taylor added that Sun needs to be more vocal about its good points. “My aim is to keep bringing in people with new ideas. This is what business partners want,” he said.

“The market has flipped on its head ­ with some distributors that are larger than vendors and are less agile than they need to be. We will redress that balance.”

Matthew Gower, vice president of Avnet Technology Solutions UK and Nordics, one of Sun’s other two distribution partners, said his firm was enjoying continued success in the Sun space.

“Sun’s measure of success will be on the channel development partner’s ability to achieve business growth in line with Sun’s core objectives, to drive growth with partners as well as to bring in new business partners and end users,” he said.

“Avnet has done this successfully in the past and is confident of continuing this growth in the future.”