Exinda undergoes UK distie and management shake-up
New UK boss, distributor and marketing approach for WAN optimisation vendor
Exinda Networks has stressed it is adding to, rather than pulling resource out of, the UK following recent changes to its management, distribution and marketing strategy in the country.
The WAN optimisation vendor recently parted ways with EMEA boss Simon Jackson, and has apparently pulled out of this year's IP Expo show, sparking rumours about its commitment to the region.
Kevin Kirksey, vice president of global sales for Exinda, stressed that the vendor has this week hired a new UK boss and is taking on additional channel and engineering headcount in the country. He denied that Exinda is struggling to make headway against larger competitors in a WAN optimisation market that is showing signs of cooling off.
"Our business is extremely healthy, both worldwide and in the UK. I think the UK is really the only place we are adding bodies," he said.
The UK will now be run by Juan Lyall, who rejoins Exinda after a two-year absence. He will fill the shoes of Jackson, who departed last week for distributor VCW, just weeks after previous EMEA boss Carl Barton left the firm.
A dedicated channel resource has also been added in the form of Bruno Caravaggio, who has been charged with rolling out Exinda's new Core partner programme in the UK over the coming months.
"Juan is able to hit the ground running – he knows the market, the products and the partners," Kirksey said.
Kirksey was unable to confirm talk that Exinda has pulled out of October's IP Expo but did reveal that the vendor's marketing approach has shifted away from attending regional trade shows. Instead it is investing in hiring "content experts" in vertical markets such as education and manufacturing that can raise its brand awareness in the arenas where its buyers spend the most time.
The US-based firm, which has about 3,000 customers globally, has also taken on Cloud Distribution as its second UK distributor alongside incumbent Exclusive Networks.
Kirksey said Cloud's focus on networking is a better fit than Exclusive Networks, which he characterised as a security specialist.
"Some of the resellers Cloud does business with are an ideal fit for the Core partner programme," he added. "It's the only programme I am aware of where the manufacturer signs themselves up for guaranteed [target] on what they give back to partners, for instance in terms of quantities of leads and campaigns and the business they bring to them."
Adam Davison, director of Cloud Distribution, said that Exinda would fit into two of its four product stacks, namely WAN and enterprise mobility.
"What's unique about Exinda is it has the ability to play both in the BYOD world - it is perfect for controlling traffic flows to BYOD devices - as well as corporate WAN infrastructure," he said.