Swyx is willing to spend to attract new resellers
Vendor wants three different types of VAR as it bids to rebrand and ditch its technical image
Voice over IP (VoIP) software vendor Swyx has promised to spend half of its marketing budget on the channel to attract new VARs.
Swyx plans to rebrand and shake off is technical image to expand its reach with new UK resellers.
Dave Smith, senior vice-president for marketing at Swyx, said: “In the UK we have less than 50 VARs. We would like to bring on board 50 to 60 more UK resellers.
“We are after three types of VARs: the traditional voice resellers, to encourage them to get into data; the Microsoft and data VARs, because our product has a Microsoft skills set; and resellers skilled in applications, such as Citrix.
Smith added that the search for VARs is not based on revenue, but on how much partners invest to support and service Swyx products.
“Half of our marketing spend will be on the channel. We are offering more margin on the product for the resellers,” he said.
Smith insisted that Swyx does not want to flood the market, nor to disturb its 100 per cent channel model.
“Swyx is a technical brand, and smaller businesses don’t have the technical expertise. We want to simplify our message and show the advantages of an IP solution,” he said.
Smith added that the Swyx product has worked well in the local government, professional services, healthcare and education markets.
“We don’t target a specific market, but most of our business has been at the SME level, and most of our partners can service the lower end of that market,” he said.
Russell Lux, managing director of Swyx reseller Luxtech, said: “The UK operation has boosted sales and the marketing side of the brand. It would be good to see Swyx recruit more VARs, because this would create better marketing coverage.”
Lux added that the vendor has been supportive, and that the Swyx product can lead to additional services such as installations and continued support. C