Cloud firm aims to free channel from vendor "straightjacket"

Abiquo's new boss claims company offers resellers options with its private cloud solutions

The new boss of a private cloud services provider has claimed his leadership will provide the channel with cloud choice, helping resellers to avoid the "straightjacket" which its rival vendor giants impose on VARs.

Abiquo's new chief executive, Jim Darragh, took over the hot seat last week, and plans to grow the business aggressively under his leadership. Darragh joins the business from Riverbed Technology, where it is claimed he played a instrumental part in the company's takeover of Zeus Technology, where he was chief executive.

Darragh said the market is still fragmented enough to offer ample opportunity for new businesses such as Abiquo, which was established in 2006.

Darragh claimed he is not afraid of competing against rivals such as VMware and Citrix in the virtualisation and cloud space.

"They are big beasts, but they want you to buy their flavour [of solution]. I want you to be able to pick the technology to best suit your business, and to choose what gives you best advantage within your organisation," he said.

"We provide the open hooks for customers, and that is different from the wallet-capture, vendor lock-in, and the straightjackets which big vendors force [VARs] down into."

Abiquo, which first opened in Barcelona, is now headquartered in the UK, and hopes to roll out a channel programme in the near future, focusing on managed services providers.

Darragh added that his main aim in the UK is to "grow the business as quickly as humanly possible."

Despite admitting that the company is in its early stages, Darragh added: "I think we are going to surprise a few people. We have a great team with a great track record, and there is definitely more to add to this story."