Unipalm turns hand to IP voice
Firm signs up to distribute Zultys's IP telephony systems
Security distributor Unipalm is launching its first assault on the voice market after signing up to distribute Zultys's IP telephony systems.
Zultys was poised to announce a distribution deal in August.
Unipalm will initially distribute the products in the UK, while its parent firm, Computer Links, will distribute Zultys in France and Germany before expanding to Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and Spain.
"We have always looked at the voice market, but voice used to be too complicated and not right for our channel," said Russell Zientek, Unipalm's director of e-business.
"We always thought voice over IP was the market to be in. Zultys meets the criteria we set."
Justine Cross, EMEA business development manager at Zultys, said security resellers seem more willing to embrace change, which is one reason why the company selected Unipalm and Computer Links.
"Security resellers are always looking for something new to offer their customers. We found voice resellers tend to stick with one vendor, for example Siemens or Alcatel. The security channel understands the product and knows that it works and is easy to understand," she said.
"Unipalm has a good relationship with its resellers and it understands what Zultys is doing. It is also going to use the product in-house."
Unipalm has agreements with switch vendor Ipswitch and IM Logic to distribute the two firms' instant messaging (IM) products. Zultys's PBX devices also support IM and presence awareness as standard.
Both companies lie outside the traditional voice market. However, Iain Milnes, founder of Zultys, has a long track record in the telecoms industry, which includes having founded testing kit maker Zarak and subsequently selling it to Spirent.