AMD drills into SMB space
Vendor invests in bespoke scheme and funded heads as part of SMB market onslaught
AMD is launching a concerted push into the SMB market to get closer to its partners and customers.
The vendor, which classes SMBs as businesses with five to 1,000 staff, will offer selected partners a tailored version of its Fusion Partner Programme (FPP), which will see them dealing direct with AMD for servers and components rather than via the traditional distribution route.
On the distribution side, the vendor is supporting a number of funded heads to drive sales and provide support for that route to market.
Distributors involved include Avnet, SDG and Westcoast, with VARs signed up including Misco, Computacenter and Insight.
AMD has also hired a UK SMB business manager, Jon Shortland, who will build the Fusion Partner Programme in the UK region.
Darren Grasby, corporate vice president of EMEA channel and SMB sales at AMD, told CRN: "SMB is the bit that we are after. In particular, the customers with between five and 499 employees are our top targets.
"We cover 50 per cent of the market and by putting the funded heads in place we can help these guys go after the other 50 per cent."
Sukh Rayat, senior vice president at Avnet Technology Solutions, hailed the initiative: "The funded head will be supporting our strategy in SMB server business to drive more sales based on AMD technology.
"It gives extra focus when we have someone trained by AMD making resellers aware of the benefits of the technology, and helps to drive the message that AMD has a good solution in the space."
Alex Tatham, sales and marketing director at Westcoast, welcomed the extra support, but said that AMD had some work to do in the SMB market.
"Intel dominates the space at the moment and AMD has to articulate its message and make sure it understands the objectives that the channel comes up against," he said.