Maverick edits out video arm

MD blames video conferencing vendors for failure of distribution division

Maverick has blamed the failure of video conferencing vendors to sort out their channel policies for its decision to ditch its video conferencing distribution division after just a year in the business.

The inability to make a success of the video conferencing division has come as a blow to managing director Mark Wilkins, who believed he had got the timing right last January. But it had become increasingly difficult to make money from the products, he said.

?It?s still not a distribution market,? said Wilkins. ?The manufacturers are in a bit of a mess because they don?t know what to do with the channel. The high end roll-abouts market is going well but that?s not for distribution. We couldn?t get anyone turned-on about the lower-end products.?

Maverick will now concentrate on its core presentations business, but Wilkins intends to keep a close eye on the video conferencing market, ready for a new assault if conditions should improve.

Maverick?s decision to pull out of the market has surprised distribution rival Datech, which claims it did #4.2 million of business for Picturetel last year. ?They?re pulling out at the wrong time,? said Nigel Dunn, manager of Datech?s video conferencing division.

He admitted that Picturetel?s channels ?are not 100 per cent sorted?, but added that the small to medium enterprise market is the fastest growing sector and ?a good living can be made in the channel. I?m not being funny, but maybe the choice of manufacturer may make a difference to Maverick.?