Softcat plays host to Vision Solutions

VAR adds vendor's disaster recovery products to SPLA programme

VAR Softcat has added Vision Solutions' disaster recovery offerings to the burgeoning list of products offered under its service provider licensing agreement (SPLA) programme.

The deal allows Softcat to resell licensing agreements for Vision's Double-Take Availability and Double-Take RecoverNow to channel firms that want to offer hosted versions of them to customers on a pay-monthly basis.

The VAR already has similar SPLA partnerships in place with Red Hat, VMware and Microsoft, and also stocks the rest of the Double-Take product portfolio.

Ian Masters, UK sales director at Vision Solutions, said the VAR's vast experience in SPLA programmes was a key factor in its decision to partner with them.

"Operationally, they are already set up to deliver products through this kind of model and we have worked with them for a number of years in a reseller capacity," Masters told ChannelWeb.

"They also have a dedicated team in place who can quickly attend to any challenges that might arise for partners and customers."

Masters said the firm will offer partners the option of buying SPLAs directly, if they are put off purchasing them from a rival channel firm.

"I really cannot see this being a big issue for most partners, but the option will be there if they need it," he said.

David Simpson, commercial director at Softcat, said that with the appetite for hosted and managed services growing, Vision was wise to move into the market now.

"We have seen a lot of growth and development in the types of services that people want to consume through a pay-as-you-go model, and Vision's products are a great candidate for it," he added.