ScanSource rocks up in Hull

Distributor becomes second Avaya partner to open northern digs since Nimans lost franchise

ScanSource Communications Europe has become the second Avaya distributor to open doors on a northern office since Mancunian rival Nimans was cut from the comms vendor's distribution line-up.

ScanSource is opening a demo and training centre at its new Hull office to showcase Avaya's IP Office and Aura technologies. The facility will be used for training channel firms and demonstrating the kit's capabilities to end users.

The centre is designed to complement the distributor's existing demo facility at its Egham head office and offer northern VARs an easier way to take a look at new Avaya wares. It will also be showcasing Panasonic and ShoreTel products.

Reseller sales and tech staff are to be invited to a number of training events and given the opportunity to increase their level of technical accreditation in the coming months.

Paul Emery, UK technical support and pre-sales manager at ScanSource, said: "This new demo centre puts us in the position of allowing customers in both the north and south of the country to benefit from local opportunities to see and learn about equipment. We will use the centre to illustrate to resellers the value of communications solutions on offer, and the centre could also be used by resellers to provide live demonstrations to end users to assist them in closing deals."

The opening of ScanSource's Hull facility comes four months after Westcon unveiled its new Manchester digs, a move it hoped would attract Avaya VARs that formerly worked with Nimans. Avaya trimmed its UK distributor numbers from five to four in October when it served notice on Salford-based Nimans. The two firms' relationship came to its formal end last month.