Easynet takes SMB market by the Horn

Recently appointed channel boss offers resellers a listening ear

Easynet's new UK SMB boss is asking resellers to help shape the comms provider's product road map as he seeks to reinvigorate its channel.

Industry veteran Andy Horn joined the company last month as general manager of Easynet Connect, the ISP's SMB business unit. Horn told CRN the vendor would be attractive to channel firms because of its product set and business ethos.

"We have up to 60MB in copper and 100MB in fibre, and that is exactly what resellers want," he added. "Easynet is still very much an entrepreneurial business. Colt and C&W talk up their entrepreneurship, but you do not get a sense of it."

Easynet has 500 UK partners which operate as traditional resellers or referral agents, and Horn claimed a key part of his mission will be to deepen ties with both parties. He added that he wanted to build the vendor's products and channel programme around what resellers want.

"I would like to innovate some more products and want to reinvigorate Easynet with the existing partners," he said. "We want the channel to drive our business. Often, the channel is an afterthought or a bolt-on. [Other providers] take existing products and push them into the channel. We are trying to build services for the channel."

Horn said he will canvass reseller opinion in the coming weeks to discover what they want most from their channel programme. Initiatives under the microscope will include marketing, training and sponsored sales staff.