AirTight pledges monogamy to e92plus

Wireless LAN vendor parts ways with second distributor Purdicom after little more than a year

The need for a more "controlled" UK channel strategy has prompted wireless LAN vendor AirTight Networks to ink a sole-distributor pact with e92plus.

AirTight is in the process of parting ways with its second distributor, Purdicom, handing e92plus exclusive rights to its portfolio, which is held in high esteem by analyst Gartner for its security prowess.

Purdicom, which AirTight appointed last April (when it was known as Selcoms), said it is focusing on its relationship with rival WLAN vendor Ruckus Wireless.

AirTight has a strong security bent, with its wireless intrusion prevention system billed as a driver for PCI compliance projects and a security overlay for other WiFi vendors, e92plus said. It has been ranked as the top wireless security solution by Gartner for the past six years.

Simon Hollister, EMEA director at AirTight, said the "explosive growth" his firm is enjoying in EMEA in verticals such as retail and education sparked the need for a more controlled distribution strategy.

"E92plus has consistently invested in its own AirTight skills and enhanced its ability to support a rapidly growing partner base, so it was an easy decision for me to appoint it as sole distributor," he said.

According to analyst Dell'Oro, the growth of cloud-managed systems and 802.11ac access points will help the WLAN market to swell by 70 per cent between 2013 and 2018 to reach $6.7bn.

As well as security, AirTight also developed strengths around cloud and social WiFi, said e92plus managing director Mukesh Gupta.

"The development of the cloud platform and advanced Social WiFi and guest management offering gives resellers an entirely different dimension to promote, and puts AirTight ahead of the many legacy wireless solutions using outdated or commoditised technologies," Gupta said.

Purdicom's contract with AirTight is set to officially end in October and the distributor said it has many other irons in the fire.

"As the largest Ruckus distributor in EMEA and a best-of-breed distributor, Purdicom will now focus on the huge year-on-year Ruckus Wireless revenue increase that has showed no signs of slowing," Purdicom said in a statement.

"As well as Ruckus for the WiFi side, Purdicom has recently signed iboss Network Security, the fastest-growing security vendor currently in the world, seeing Purdicom expand into new territories."