Equiinet continues to build up its channel

Equinet expecting to appoint a third UK distributor

SME security appliance vendor Equiinet is on the verge of appointing a third UK distributor as it looks to ramp up its channel activity.

The firm, which already works with distributors Sphinx and Mindshare in the UK, declined to reveal who the third distributor will be.

Back in April CRN revealed that Equiinet was looking for 100 additional resellers by the end of the year to bring the total up to about 250 (CRN, 24 April). The vendor’s flagship products include NetPilot Plus, NetPilot 3.0, NetPilot Remote and NetPilot Enterprise, and it has been ranked in the top five UK security appliance vendors by IDC.

Bob Jones, managing director of Equiinet, said the firm is on track to achieve its target. “We are looking for two types of partners working in different geographical and vertical markets. Our products are sold through resellers that sell mainly to SMEs, and they need as much ammunition as they can get,” he said.

He added that the vendor is running regular training courses and providing VARs with direct support.

“As we increase our reseller numbers we need to add to our distribution business as well,” he said.

Nick Morse, managing director of Mindshare, said he is not worried about Equiinet appointing a third distributor, provided it does not choose a broadliner.

“There is quite a lot of value-add for resellers around Equiinet’s products. They are not just plug-and-play, more ‘plug-and-tweak a little’. That is where resellers and specialist distributors add value,” he said.

“However, we have no objections to Equiinet appointing a third distributor to help widen its market.”