Bloxx refreshes VAR sales

Web-filtering vendor claims offer will stimulate end-user sales and pocket more money for its VARs

Pat Dunne: This offer is particularly good for councils that need the right budgets tied down

Web-filtering challenger Bloxx has followed up on its five per cent price cut by launching a free hardware refresh offer.

In a move designed to pile more pressure on rivals such as Websense and stimulate sales, Bloxx is offering a free hardware upgrade to existing customers who renew their maintenance contract for a further three years.

Pat Dunne, vice president of sales at Bloxx, told CRN: “This offer is particularly good for government organisations and councils looking to ensure they have the right budgets tied down and don’t want any surprises.”

The offer will also enable Bloxx’s 25 to 30 UK resellers to make more money, claimed Dunne.

Although the partner's margin has been dropped to 30 per cent from the usual 40 per cent, he emphasised that the deal's value would be larger than a typical renewal, netting them more money overall.

Dunne said: “It produces more money for the reseller, so they are happy; the customer is happy as they have a new piece of hardware; and we are happy as we have a customer committed for another three years who also has new hardware that is easier to support.”

Dunne hit out at US-based competitors such as Websense for increasing their UK prices in the wake of currency fluctuations. But Brit rival Clearswift, which went the other way by pledging to beat renewals from eight rivals by 20 per cent, also got a tongue-lashing from Dunne.

“What Clearswift is doing seems a bit desperate, as they are doing it for vendors across the board,” he said.

Phil Dick, director at Bloxx and Websense partner NTS, welcomed the offer.

"Websense has a technology lead but, at the end of the day, it's not just about having the right product," he said. "We are increasingly finding the three things that customers are looking for are price, price and price."