CHS/Merisel signs Acotec as first vendor

CHS has taken on ISDN networking vendor Acotec, making it the first signing since the distributor bought Merisel in October.

Peter Rigby, networking divisional manager at CHS, said the firm had no plans to take on more vendors for a couple of months. ?The key goal is to get the team focused and following the merging of the CHS and Merisel networking staff,? he said. ?We signed Acotec because it is a niche manufacturer with products that fit well with our Microsoft and NT strategy.?

PC Dealer revealed that Acotec and CHS were in talks at the beginning of November, after Acotec halved the price of its ISDN for Windows 95 package to #200. The vendor said it needed to change to a two-tier channel structure in order to fulfil demand for the product.

Nick Morse, sales and marketing director at Acotec, said: ?Our products are targeted at SMEs looking to exploit the benefits of ISDN communications and to capitalise on this we need a distributor with strength in this market.?