Changes rock Foundstone
Vendor shakes up its channel after being acquired by McAfee
Security vendor Foundstone has shaken up its channel and has said it is "tearing up contracts" just months after being acquired by rival vendor McAfee.
Following confusion around Foundstone's definition of various partners and inconsistent discounts, the US-based vendor will strip VARs, MSS and Integralis of their distributor status and consolidate around one distributor, EIP Distribution.
The 'distribution' agreements with Integralis and MSS will be discontinued in January, leaving EIP Distribution as Foundstone's sole distributor.
Wayne Carter, McAfee's channel director, said that because of their misguided status, Integralis and MSS received discounts of up to 50 per cent. These unusually high margins made it hard for other resellers to compete on equal terms, he admitted.
"In the UK we segment the channel a lot more than in the US. There's only one true distributor in Foundstone's channel, and the structure will reflect that," Carter said.
MSS and Integralis are to be offered new contracts to reflect their reseller status.
Amar Rathor, managing director of EIP Distribution, said: "The Americans obviously didn't understand the model and they screwed it up for other resellers. Hopefully, now McAfee is in charge, it will sort things out."