Cabletron signs first UK distie

After a four-month trial period, the vendor has agreed terms with Data Translation Networking

Direct networking vendor Cabletron has signed Data Translation Networking as its first UK distributor and is also in discussions with Persona.

Cabletron, which sells 78 per cent of its product direct in the UK, also wants to recruit more resellers to its 15-strong Synergy Plus partner programme.

The firm has been in talks with DTN for the past four months (PC Dealer, 9 October 1996), and has been doing business with the distributor on a trial basis over that period.

Chris Hyde, Cabletron channel manager, said it had been cautious about the relationship because it was uncertain whether a deal would be with DTN or ETC, which bought DTN at the end of October. But with a series of joint Cabletron and DTN ads due to appear in various channel titles this week, the deal looks solid.

Hyde said: ?We?re thrilled with the business we?ve been getting from DTN and now is the steadiest time for us to make the relationship concrete.?

Cabletron has been talking to Persona for an equally long period. Charlie Stewart, sales director at the distributor, said discussions were continuing. ?Cabletron have been finding their way through the potential minefield of indirect sales, but we are still talking to them.?

Bruce McDonald, marketing manager for Cabletron EMEA, said the vendor had recognised that it could not continue with its direct policy. ?The only way to get the feet on the street is to recruit partners to help us,? he said.

?In the UK we would like to see direct/indirect sales as 50/ 50 in the short term, moving to a target of 70 per cent indirect.?

3Com marketing director Mark Hollister was sceptical about Cabletron?s ability to win over dealers wary of channel conflict. But Hyde said that the vendor needed to retain a minority of its direct sales because of customer demands and because some products were not suited to the channel.