Wick Hill cosies up to Imation with partnership

VAD claims Imation's offering plugs a gap in the market, offering VARs a one-off purchase to accommodate growing storage needs

Wick Hill has launched into the scalable storage market by expanding its partnership with Imation.

The VAD, which began working with the vendor in January after being given the rights to distribute its mobile security portfolio in the UK, will launch Imation's RDX removable hard disk storage offering from today.

Wick Hill recently signed distribution deals with LAN vendor Xirrus and Zenprise.

Imation's products, which the vendor claims are of enterprise quality, will be aimed at Wick Hill's SMB partner base, and are claimed to be the best of tape and disc storage solutions by the vendor.

The storage distribution agreement will be complementary to the company's existing mobile security contract.

Wick Hill's chairman Ian Kilpatrick said Imation's offerings plug a gap in the market.

"Storage requirements get bigger and bigger every week nowadays and Imation has the ability to scale, which is essential," he added.

"[The products] are high security and low cost for users. We do not have to fit solutions together as it is already one comprehensive solution.

"Because it is Imation, we can work with them for better margin opportunities, which [is a] very strong [proposition] for the channel."

The storage offering is a one-off purchase for resellers, with no annual software price, which Maurice Stewart-Ashley, UK VAR channel manager at Imation, believes can benefit resellers.

He said: "[Resellers] know all the costs upfront. They can keep going with the basic system and add to it as they go along; they are not buying into a cul-de-sac."