Interface lifted by IBM training accreditation

Distributor plans recruitment drive after landing authorisation for BladeCenter H training

Distributor Interface Solutions is hoping to recruit resellers and gain more traction in the enterprise space after becoming IBM’s only UK-authorised training provider for its Bladecenter H products.

Training courses for resellers are running monthly at Interface’s demonstration centre in Birmingham and are being attended by about 25 VARs at a time. The course aims to give resellers a detailed working knowledge of the design and technology of Bladecenter H products.

Rob Tomlin, sales director for Interface, claimed the firm is the largest IBM distributor in the UK and one of only three or four accredited to run IBM training courses.

“Partners do not have to go to a classroom, they can sit in a demo centre and touch and feel the product,” he said. “Our guys live and breathe these products.”

Tomlin claimed his company’s storage and server business had increased by nearly 50 per cent last year and said that the training courses could help the distributor increase its presence in the enterprise space and augment its share of the IBM market.

“We have invested heavily in this,” Tomlin told CRN. “It took a long time to get the training and the necessary skills. We have a very strong market share for IBM and we are seeing growth come from new partners that we are bringing into the fold. HP partners are moving to IBM specifically around VMware.”

Bob Greenway, a consultant for Logicalis, attended the course. He said: “Interface’s IBM training and demonstration centre provides an excellent environment to run training courses and the calibre of teaching is second to none. Interface is providing a valuable service that rapidly familiarises our technical staff with the benefits of IBM’s BladeCenter H technology.”