Storage Fusion tools up for partner push

Avisen-owned ISV rolls out new storage analytics product and hints at soon-to-be-announced distributor and reseller signings

Avisen-owned vendor Storage Fusion is making good on its pledge to forge closer ties with the channel through the rollout of new products, distribution agreements and reseller partnerships.

The Hertfordshire-based ISV specialises in storage analytics software and was acquired by Avisen in April 2010.

The firm announced plans to ramp up its channel activities, with the help of its parent company, last November.

As part of this, the vendor recently unveiled a Consultant version of its SaaS-based Storage Resource Analysis (SRA) product, which gives VARs an insight into the workings of their customer's storage estate.

The cloud-based nature of the product allows these storage assessments to be carried out remotely. The results can be used by VARs to create business cases for storage upgrades, the vendor claims.

Peter White, operations director of Storage Fusion, told ChannelWeb: "In the past, this would all be done manually by sending a storage consultant in [to a customer site] to gain an understanding of the storage environment.

"Often the data collected would be inaccurate or incomplete. It also takes time, the process does not scale very well and, because it is so dependent on humans, it is not that repeatable," he added.

The product is being pitched to partners as a lead generation tool that VARs can white-label and use to cold-call customers.

"Partners just send the customer a script to run, which collects configuration data about the environment and the partner can use that to create a business case based on proven data," said White.

"It allows the partner to get a foot in the door very quickly... partners end up learning more about the storage estate than the customer and can start putting together proposals to help the customer save money."

Partners pay Storage Fusion every time they want to run an assessment or they can buy them in bulk, added White.

"Larger partners will buy a bundle, and commit upfront to a number of assessments that they can then call them off over a period of time," he explained.

"It is cheaper and easier because you do not have to go through the hassle of raising a purchase order every time you want to use it."

The company claims the product has been used to analyse more than 3,000 storage arrays, including those made by EMC, NetApp, HP, IBM and Hitachi, and is now on the hunt for partners to use it.

Storage Fusion also released an end-user version of the product late last year for the channel to resell.

"We will be signing some distribution agreements with firms you would have heard of and some household name resellers in due course," added White.

"We are really focusing on building up our partner network through distribution. We also have vendors using it around their own needs in enterprise, tier-one environments, where they have direct relationships."