Mediasurface to fire Silverbullet at SMEs
vendor appoints channel manager to spearhead indirect push
Web content vendor Mediasurface is attempting to establish an SME channel in the UK and has appointed a channel manager to lead the charge.
In April 2005, Mediasurface acquired Class-Act, based in the Netherlands, for £270,000.
Class-Act supplies a content management system called Silverbullet, which enables SMEs to develop, manage and maintain a web site. Following the acquisition, Mediasurface revamped Silverbullet and changed its name to Pepperio.
Natalie Howell, newly appointed Pepperio channel manager at Mediasurface, told CRN: “My remit is to develop a UK channel for Pepperio.
“I don’t have a specific target for the number of partners I’d like on board. We would like to work with good-quality partners, predominantly in the creative agencies market.”
Accredited partners will be able to offer Pepperio to customers on a rental basis.
“Resellers will be able to get recurring revenue on a monthly basis by selling Pepperio,” Howell said.
“Partners can position themselves as a one-stop-shop, offering a full range of services that take customers from design through to hosting web sites and all points in between. Users won’t have to worry about the technicalities of creating, running and hosting a software application.”
However, Bob Tarzey, service director at analyst Quocirca, said the content management market is already quite well established.
“Mediasurface has been around for a long time, so if this is its first foray into the SME space it is late in the day,” he said.
“I have seen other companies attempt this and not get very far at all. The channel has been bombarded with offerings just like this in the past. The problem is that many SMEs outsource their web site management and would have little need for an in-house tool.”
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