VXL eyes a fatter share of the thin-client sector

Vendor seeks a quarter of the market within two years, but rivals claim there is room enough for all

Thin-client vendor VXL has issued a war cry to its rivals as it looks to grab a quarter of the market by 2007.

The firm, which recently launched its latest remote management software, XLmanage, believes it is in a good position to achieve its goal. It has identified Wyse, which has about 40 per cent of the market, and Neoware as its main targets.

Frank Noon, vice-president of sales at VXL, said: “In the past, our biggest weakness has been our management software. But the launch of XLmanage has made a difference. We had 11 per cent market share in 2004 and are feeling confident. ”

VXL’s flagship products are its Itona and Percio Series of thin-client terminals, and it is a Citrix OEM partner.

Noon said: “Although Wyse has 40 per cent market share, it is an SME. Our way of taking market share is by promoting our products to enterprises and then fulfilling demand through the reseller channel, which we are also looking to expand.”

The firm works with two distributors in the UK, Avnet Visual+ Data Solutions and OpenPSL. But Noon said it would not rule out appointing a third if there is sufficient demand.

David Morris, product manager at Avnet, said: “Unlike other thin-client manufacturers, VXL does not have a huge range of products, so customers aren’t faced with different and confusing form factors.

“Although it is up against it with the likes of Wyse and Neoware, and Hewlett-Packard is hammering away, it is our job to go out and promote its products to our resellers.”

David Angwin, senior marketing manager at Wyse northern Europe, said he was not concerned about the competition from VXL.

“This is a strong, growing market. IDC is predicting 20 per cent year-on-year growth and we expect to see some noise from smaller vendors.

“We are meeting or exceeding that level of growth in our business and expect to maintain or grow our market share."