Purdicom predicts 'huge uptake' from Xirrus pact
WLAN vendor appoints Purdicom as third UK distributor alongside e92plus and Westcon
Xirrus has appointed a third UK distributor in the form of Purdicom – the largest EMEA distributor for rival wireless LAN vendor Ruckus.
The Oxfordshire-based distributor says it expects to see "huge uptake" of Xirrus' cloud platform after the partnership officially launches on 1 May.
Working alongside incumbents e92plus and Westcon, Purdicom will support the signing with three partner events in June, as well as accredited technical workshops to on-board new partners.
"Xirrus is a great fit for Purdicom," said Purdicom marketing manager George Garrod.
"They are experiencing great growth and are currently in an exciting period, releasing many innovative new products and an awesome cloud ecosystem that makes a great business case for VARs, ISPs and MSPs in the UK."
Garrod said Purdicom's partnership with Ruckus, for which it claims to be the largest EMEA distributor, remains "extremely strong".
However, Mukesh Gupta, managing director of e92plus, said he understood from Xirrus that Purdicom had been enlisted partly to target the Ruckus base.
"We've been doing this [Xirrus] for five years now and have our space in the market," he said. "We welcome any efforts by Xirrus to expand the market into areas we don't touch, which we were told was why Xirrus signed Purdicom. Xirrus don't want them to tread on our toes."
Niall McGrane, general manager at Westcon Security, was unfazed by the arrival of a third distributor.
"Purdicom is not a distributor we compete with and we remain focused around our plans with Xirrus," he said.
"Of all the people who may have a problem with this, it would be Ruckus."
Asked how Purdicom plans to manage the two relationships side by side, Garrod said: "With the Wi-Fi market growing exponentially in the UK, Purdicom, together with Xirrus, will continue to increase its partner base providing the tailored support mechanism to new partners that has proved a key value-add to our existing customers."
James Calderbank, director of enterprise sales, EMEA at Ruckus Wireless, said: "Ruckus Wireless is well established in the EMEA enterprise WLAN market, with long standing, successful channel and distribution partners in the region such as Purdicom, along with many others. Thanks to an extensive network of resellers, Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi technology has been deployed across a broad range of sectors including education, hospitality, retail, warehousing and public areas.
"Ruckus Wireless continues to strongly invest in relationships with our distributors and channel partners worldwide, highlighted by our award-winning BiG DOGs partner programme, communicating directly with them to offer exceptional technical, sales and marketing support. Ruckus hosts popular partner events on a regular basis to continuously educate and inform the channel about various market opportunities for Wi-Fi, and how to leverage the latest Smart Wi-Fi products and technology for mutual benefit."