e92plus stunned by Barracuda axe

Distributor hits out after vendor opts to move forward with Wick Hill and Avnet

Distributor e92plus has hit out at Barracuda Networks after being canned by the security and back-up appliance vendor "without reason" and has argued the move will alienate resellers.

Barracuda kicked off a distribution review in October and was always fancied to cull one of Wick Hill, Avnet or e92plus from its line-up, with the latter fingered as the most likely victim.

E92plus' contract was not renewed after it came to an end in early December, managing director Mukesh Gupta confirmed, although the distributor was allowed to trade out until the end of the year.

Gupta slammed the manner in which e92plus was dropped.

"There was no review and we haven't been offered a concrete reason, other than that our contract expired and they decided not to renew it," he said.

Gupta said he suspected the decision was taken for "personal reasons rather than in the best interests of the channel".

"Out of the three distributors, we were a close number two and very close to Wick Hill," he said. "The growth and success we've had does suggest we've done a few things right. Resellers liked dealing with us because of the value-add services we provide, for instance around inclusive installation, and they will miss that."

Barracuda has spent recent years evolving from its heritage as an anti-spam vendor and its new top management are keen to penetrate firms outside of its SME stronghold.

Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of Wick Hill, said: "Barracuda are extending their positioning into enterprise and we believe that is one of the reasons it selected Wick Hill and Avnet. Certainly to my knowledge, this was a decision communicated out of Barracuda's head office in the US."

Carl Berry, business unit director, networking and security, at Avnet Technology Solutions UK, said: "In partnership with Barracuda, we will continue to identify new storage business opportunities for partners through ongoing investment in services, solutions and resources."

Jonathan Lassman, managing director of Barracuda partner NTS, said that - despite their superior Barracuda sales - either e92plus and Wick Hill was always likely to be in the firing line given Avnet's global capabilities.

"Three distributors is too many anyway as it's just everyone fighting over the same meal. You can have healthy competition with two and the distributor that wins will be the one that can add the most value."

Marc Banyard, technical director of VAR and ISP Datatech, said his firm had ceased working with Barracuda in the wake of its UK price rise two years back.

"It got too big for its boots," he said. "It hoisted all of its prices and the discounts to resellers went down. Their response was 'we are big enough to do what we want' and we purposefully do not sell Barracuda now."

Gupta said that Barracuda accounted for just six per cent of e92plus' sales, which he said have grown by 200 per cent over the last four years. The distributor will plug the gap with existing security appliance vendors Websense and Cyberoam but will also look to sign a new data back-up vendor in the coming weeks.

Update

Since the time of publication, Barracuda's vice president and general manager for EMEA, Wieland Alge, issued us with the following statement emphasising that the decision was taken by senior management:

"I can confirm that e92 is no longer a distributor for Barracuda Networks and we have enjoyed a mutually rewarding relationship over the past seven years. However, this strategic decision to focus on two distributors was taken at a very senior level following a full and comprehensive business review on a local and European-wide level. As we know, the IT business changes quickly, and as we continue to drive our markets, we have to evolve with those changes. Parting ways after many years is never an easy process and we fully understand e92plus' disappointment. That being said, we are also convinced that our customers and partners will benefit from a focusing of resources and our ongoing firm commitment to them."