Clearswift moves to single-tier channel model

Arrow ECS served notice as web and email security vendor opts to work directly with its 250 UK resellers

Clearswift is moving to a single-tier channel model in the UK and will end its two-year relationship with Arrow ECS.

The web and email security vendor served notice to the distributor yesterday and informed its 250 trading UK partners of the decision this morning.

The transition will take place over the next two months.

Miles Rippon, vice president of worldwide channels at Clearswift (pictured), admitted the move had come as a shock to Arrow ECS but claimed the reasoning was simple.

"Sphinx [now Arrow ECS] has done the best job it possibly could for us over the last two years," he said.

"But things have changed significantly, and we find ourselves in an email and web security market that is highly competitive. It is a displacement market. For our partners to be successful, they need to be positioned to react immediately to the opportunities that present themselves."

Rippon claimed Clearswift's resellers were increasingly approaching the vendor itself, rather than Arrow ECS, to obtain sales support and help with WebExs, leading to a duplication of resource.

With one less mouth to feed, Rippon claimed Clearswift will be able to double the size of its own inside sales team and increase spend on partner marketing.

He conceded the move was unorthodox – Sophos is the only other sizeable security software vendor to work without distribution. High-profile comms vendor Mitel also moved from a two- to a one-tier model four years ago.

"Our portfolio is not broad or diverse, so it was a fairly easy decision," explained Rippon. "If we had a wider portfolio with different types of partner, it would have been a more difficult decision."

Rippon maintained that Clearswift could match Arrow ECS on core distribution functions such as logistics, credit and training.

"We ship very little hardware, and distribution did not hold stock," he said.

"The most significant value distribution has added has been certification training. But by the second week of May, we will have migrated all certification training online. We will set up credit accounts for all Catalyst partners and regular-purchasing partners and will have a credit card facility for partners that purchase sporadically."

Clearswift appointed Sphinx [now Arrow ECS] as sole distributor in May 2009 after axing Bell and Magirus.

"It is disappointing and came as a shock to Arrow, but it's not about Arrow – it's about us and our partners, and the fact we feel we are better positioned to deliver," concluded Rippon.