Bell set to secure generalist VARs

Distributor plans to woo mainstream resellers as it shrugs off recent vendor losses

Bell Micro: The distributor has claimed more resellers are set to dabble in security

Bell Micro claims the mainstream media’s coverage of security breaches will play into its hands as more generalist resellers develop security practices.

The distributor’s UK security practice has suffered a series of setbacks having lost contracts with Secure Computing, McAfee and RSA Security in quick succession.

The RSA contract ended at the end of October after Bell lost out in a global distribution shake up.

Ed Callacher, networking and security divisional manager at Bell Micro, said he would look to plug any gaps left by those losses.

“Each one has been a pain but we will fill the gaps, whether that is through expanding existing franchises or signing new ones,” he said.

“Two-factor authentication is an obvious gap and we are looking at alternatives. There is an argument to say tokens are a thing of the past and we should look at tokenless offerings.”

Bell launched its Secure the Deal programme a year ago to help generalists resellers make the leap into security. Callacher said he would ramp that up.

“As the public’s awareness of potential threats grows, people will be asking their traditional hardware resellers what they know about it,” he said. “So some elements of security will become more mainstream.”

Callacher stressed that Bell’s security division had hit sales and profit targets set last October and remains a $75-80m business in the UK.

“We have never marketed ourselves with that figure; people do not realise how big we are,” he said.

Mukesh Gupta, managing director of rival e92plus, agreed that hardware resellers were getting more requests to provide security.

“But they should go to a specialist distributor to ensure the best support for their customers,” he added.

“People see Bell as a large, broadline distributor and will get better care and attention from a mid-sized specialist.”