Ex-Frontline Franklin pinpoints an NT opportunity

Iain Franklin, former marketing director at Frontline, is starting up a European office for the US network tools company Pinpoint.

Franklin left Frontline in April 1996 when the distributor embarked on its annual restructure and made three directors redundant. During the past year he has been working as a consultant (PC Dealer, 29 April 1996).

Pinpoint will launch a product, called Clicknet, aimed at NT managers controlling Lans of 25 to 1,000 units. The system audits PCs on the network, checking the software each holds and what hardware has been installed. It provides managers with a diagram of the system and individual machines can then be checked.

The entry-level price for Clicknet is #350 for a 50-unit system.

Pinpoint product has been sold direct for the past 12 months through an agent which has set up 3,500 sites, but Franklin is looking to recruit three specialised distributors for Clicknet. He has ruled out using broadline distributors, such as Frontline, Ingram Micro or CHS Electronics, because the size of their portfolios meant they would be unable to provide the focus that the product required.

Franklin said he was looking for resellers involved in selling NT products to push Clicknet.

Although the company will continue to use direct mailshots for corporates, Franklin vowed to pass on the leads it generated to channel partners.