IES to work with Cisco partner Azlan

Ideal Enterprise Solutions to add storage products and expertise to Cisco networking equipment

Ideal Enterprise Solutions (IES) has agreed to add storage products and expertise to Cisco networking equipment, after signing a deal to work directly with Cisco Channel Development Partner (CDP) Azlan.

Ideal Hardware's storage division will become a Cisco master reseller, focusing exclusively on Cisco storage products. IES will buy networking kit from Azlan and integrate it with Cisco storage products, before selling them on to specialist Cisco resellers.

Nick Watson, head of unified channels UK at Cisco, said: "We have signed IES to add our storage routers and 3500 switches to kit from Azlan. IES's expertise makes it a good company to sell our storage products embedded within equipment."

Cisco signalled its intention to grow its storage business with the acquisition of storage switch maker Andiamo Systems (CRN, 27 August). Through IES, the networking vendor will reach about 50 of its resellers with its storage offering pre-installed in networking equipment.

Mark Walker, director at IES, said Cisco had recognised the importance of specialisation in the storage arena. "In the past, Cisco has signed partners on the basis that they have to sell the whole range, but with us they get specialised storage," he said.

He added that IES's value to Cisco was not in logistics but in knowing how to sell and integrate storage products correctly. "Storage networking is still the preserve of a small number of specialist resellers," Walker said.

Watson said IES will not compete with Cisco's distributors but will act as a technology expert to add storage to Cisco's networking equipment.

"It is not a CDP or Cisco Authorised Distributor but a master VAR that will buy from Azlan," he said.