Phoenix axed from Network General model

Network General has scrapped its relationship with its distributor and will begin selling direct in the UK, one year after adopting a similar policy for its French and German operations.

The manufacturer of network fault and performance management software has severed its eight-year partnership with sole distributor Phoenix Datacom, despite six months of negotiation.

Franck Leclercq, Network General European marketing manager, said the firm was looking to expand its product range to keep up with the explosion in the internet and intranet markets. But he claimed that a single distributor would not be suitable to push all of Network General?s additional products and had decided to follow the same pattern as it had done in France and Germany, where direct selling had boosted sales.

?The UK is the number one in Europe for networking. The more networks that are installed the easier it is to go direct. We can increase the volume of product by going direct,? said Leclercq.

Dismissing suggestions that customers would lose out on service and support, Leclercq said Network General was investing in three technical support/hotline staff, and a training centre was being set up at the company?s Windsor offices. Ongoing support would be offered to some customers free of charge.

He added that brand name and direct relationships with customers were more important in a mature market.

Following the termination of its contract with Network General, Phoenix has signed an exclusive deal with Hewlett Packard to distribute its network analysers.