Unisys Scotland to be run by agent

Unisys is drawing up plans to hand over the management of its PC, Unix and NT-based resellers in Scotland to an agent.

UK chiefs have been ordered to prepare plans under which management of the division's PC and server business in Scotland would be handed over to a third party, thought to be a large reseller. The plan is part of a European-wide move to increase indirect revenues for volume products from 10 per cent to 40 per cent.

The initiative is said to come from Fred Ruessli, European group VP and general manager of Unisys' Computer Systems Group (CSG), which is responsible for volume products.

A highly placed Unisys manager told PC Dealer last week: 'CSG wants to turn over isolated geographies in Western Europe exclusively to one partner, for example southern Italy or the Galicia region in Spain.'

Ruessli declined to comment on specific plans. He said: 'We know that we have to be flexible, and that we have to re-think our position every six months or so. We have already turned over some geographies to resellers, and we are working on several deals.'

Unisys already acts through agents where it has little or no direct presence, such as Eastern Europe and Asia. But the latest move would introduce the strategy of using geographical franchises for the first time to create a branded channel in Western Europe.