DataCore waves goodbye to Arrow and Magirus

Storage vendor on the hunt for a VAD to join remaining distributor Avnet

Storage vendor DataCore is on the hunt for a specialised VAD after announcing that it has canned distributors Arrow ECS and Magirus following a review in May.

The vendor, which is currently in talks with two VADs about the possibility of joining the distribution line-up alongside remaining distributor Avnet, admitted it was over-distributed and that a shake-up was in order.

DataCore ceased trading with Arrow on 1 July and a day later handed notice to Magirus when the distributor's acquisition by Avnet was announced.

The vendor will make a decision on which new VAD it will appoint when Magirus' contract expires in October.

Keith Joseph, DataCore's north EMEA manager, said his firm's relationship with Arrow had occured by default.

"The problem we had was that Arrow had come about from the acquisition of Centia which was a focused, specialised distributor, at the cutting edge in its field," he said.

"Following its acquisition by Arrow, we ended up with two huge distributors, so working with Arrow happened by default."

Working with distributors at different ends of the market means DataCore can achieve partnerships with a wider reach of resellers, Joseph said.

"We need a more traditional distributor [alongside Avnet] with a very compact product set to drive us forward," he added.

"We are trying to find a mid-tier distributor that is a true VAD in the sense that it concentrates on fewer brands in a deeper way.

"We want to add value back to our resellers through our distribution model. We are sticking with Avnet, but we also want competition from a more specialised VAR that gives us flexibility and depth with; it is a trade-off."