Sybari seeks UK resellers ahead of European launch

Sybari Software, an anti-virus vendor that sells direct in the US, hopes to appoint UK resellers as part of its European launch.

Sybari Software, an anti-virus vendor that sells direct in the US, hopes to appoint UK resellers as part of its European launch.

Marcella Mazzucca, marketing director at Sybari, said the professionalism and high level of education among European VARs made the company reassess its strategy.

"We aim to put 80 per cent of our business through channel partners. We went direct in the US because resellers are not so effective. They lack the knowledge of their European counterparts and the market is too overcrowded," she claimed.

Sybari specialises in groupware anti-virus installations. Its Antigen software is designed for Notes and Exchange servers. Mazzucca said: "This installation aims to eliminate viruses at root, cleaning an infected file before it reaches a user's desktop."

She said this approach had minimised damage from recent email-based viruses.

"Not one of our customers was affected by the 'I Love You' bug. Groupware installation meant that the server cleaned the file before it reached people's Outlook Express address books," Mazzucca claimed.

Jason Thompson, managing director of distributor Softek, said Sybari had a good chance of succeeding in the UK. "Security has become a very competitive market. Product support is key to success in the anti-virus market, regular updates and technical support. Sybari has to get that right."

Sybari has yet to announce any UK channel partners but is currently in negotiations with three unnamed resellers. Mazzucca said the company aims to take on up to 10 resellers.