Ideal Unisolve shifts Alpha Unix balance

InterX has broken up the Alpha Unix stranglehold of Metrologie, Computer 2000 and Computers & Finance (CSF) after Compaq appointed the distributor last week in a move to expand its product range.

Through Ideal Unisolve, its services subsidiary, InterX has been made a Compaq Integration Partner (CIP) and will configure Alpha Unix and Open VMS servers and workstations, going head to head with CHS Electronics' Metrologie unit and C2000.

The certification will allow the distributor to configure Alpha Blue Unix boxes, which it says will enable it to shrink delivery lead times from 21 days to 48 hours.

The appointment coincided with Compaq's formal relaunch and renaming of its Alpha Unix offerings to Tru64 Unix last week.

The distributor had been selling Alpha machines as a Digital partner before the acquisition, but took on the entire Compaq range when it became a fully fledged Compaq distributor last August.

Chris Webb, managing director of Unisolve, said the accreditation was a 'stamp of credibility and quality' on the recently opened configuration centre.

'We sold Alphas pre-merger, but without being able to procure parts,' he added.

Mike Cohen, sales director at City Var CSF, said Compaq was simply expanding the market for distribution.

'We do configuration for users, which is a very different target market. We don't have a positive or negative view of it,' he added.

Metrologie was unavailable for comment.