Stone supplants Kelway in Acer £300m universities gig

Kelway says partnership with Acer on NDNA framework 'non-core' as Stone Group takes its place

Stone Group has replaced Kelway as one of Acer's three allotted resellers on a £310m higher-education PC and tablet framework, CRN has learned.

Acer made it onto the NDNA framework for the first time last summer and, like all manufacturers that made the cut, was able to work with up to three resellers.

Getech, Gaia and Kelway - courtesy of its acquisition of Equanet - were Acer's chosen trio but following approval from NDNA's board, the vendor has now added Stone to its roster, with Kelway making way.

Although Stone was already on the framework both as a manufacturer and as a reseller for Samsung, Stone marketing director Daley Robinson said linking arms with Acer across NDNA's three Lots would allow it to offer a wider choice of products to universities and colleges.

"With the ramp-up on Windows 8 we are seeing across the education space, Acer's commitment to Windows 8 devices in the form of tablets will be extremely important on this framework," he said.

"Acer was first to market with an 8in Windows tablet and is a clear innovator in that space."

Although an unusual move, there is contractual provision for OEMs to swap resellers mid-framework but it has to be ratified by the NDNA board, Robinson explained. Unlike other frameworks, NDNA is OEM-led, meaning only the OEMs hold agreements and not the resellers.

According to our sources, Acer's decision to swap horses suits all parties, including Stone, which apparently needed to build an alliance with an alternative vendor following Samsung's decision to focus less on notebooks and more on Chromebooks. Meanwhile, Acer wins because Stone is one of NDNA's biggest suppliers historically, while Kelway saw the partnership as non-core.

Robinson refused to confirm whom Stone had replaced but both Acer and Kelway acknowledged the spilt.

Dan Laws, managing director of Kelway (pictured), said: "This is something we inherited from Equanet and we don't have a particularly big relationship with Acer. It was bid for by [former Equanet parent] Dixons and is not something we've chosen to focus on."

Let on a three- (plus-one) year basis, NDNA is open to all universities and colleges affiliated with six regional consortia: APUC, LUPC, SUPC, HEPCW, NEUPC and the NWUPC. Lots one and two, covering desktops and notebooks, respectively, are worth an estimated £220m and £75m. Lot three - a "one-stop-shop" for both desktops and notebooks - is worth an estimated £15m.

Although the pan-public sector commodity IT mega-framework, CITHS, is coming to an end in October after having recently been extended, a functional replacement is in the pipeline.

But Robinson said NDNA boasts several strengths over more over-arching frameworks such as CITHS and its successor.

"It's a framework that has been designed by universities, for universities," Robinson said.

"It's been around for double-digit years and is proven in its ability to deliver best value. There will always be a place for it as it's meeting a specific requirement for universities, specifically around devices."

Both Acer and Lenovo made it onto NDNA for the first time last summer and Guy Watts, sales director at Getech - which partners with both vendors - said the newcomers had been embraced by university customers.

"We are very pleased with the relationships we have with Lenovo and Acer and the acceptance of the two new vendors is continuing at pace," he said.