AVG squares channel conflict circle

Anti-virus vendor aims to appease resellers with revenue share programme

Anti-virus vendor AVG claims its direct web and indirect reseller channels can finally co-exist in harmony thanks to the introduction of its revenue share programme.

Since April, AVG has been handing its partners a 20 per cent slice of sales conducted through its web shop if the customer relationship was originally generated by them.

This holds not only for renewals but also for when customers are purchasing new product functionality, which the vendor claimed makes the scheme unique.

Despite its consumer heritage, AVG now draws 70 per cent of its UK sales from SMB, with 90 per cent of revenue travelling through its 1,250 partners.

Chris McManus, who joined AVG as vice president of sales in October, admitted the dichotomy between its web shop and reseller channels had sometimes caused frustration.

"My remit was to revitalise what we do in the channel and the SMB market," he said.

"We have to recognise that people buy from a variety of sources and this is a good way of marrying those two channels together."

AVG has also bolstered its technical support resources for resellers. The UK-based team previously worked business hours but is now available on a 24-by-five basis for resellers working on customer networks out of hours.

"You ask resellers what they are looking for from vendors and the number-one thing is always support," said McManus.