Liquidware Labs' UK boss returns after stint at VMware

Dan Falconer admits the 'shiny lights' of VMware lured him away but insists the channel is a key priority in new role

Liquidware Labs has appointed its ex-channel boss Dan Falconer as regional director of the UK and Ireland (UKI), as he returns from a two-year stint at rival VMware.

Falconer (pictured) this week began heading up the UKI team at the Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered vendor, which offers tools to help its customers migrate to a virtual desktop.

Falconer departed Liquidware Labs in 2013 to join one of its main competitors VMware as its enterprise sales account manager.

He insisted that although he had his head turned by a rival, now is a great time to return to Liquidware Labs.

"I saw [now] as a great time to rejoin a company that is on a real upward trend, great products, 100 per cent integrated and solving challenges that every customer I talk to has right now," he told CRN.

"I left initially for a couple of reasons; Liquidware has had great technology from day one, but they were early to market. So the technology it developed was a bit ahead of the curve at the time.

"I was offered an opportunity at VMware to gain some more experience with a large company, and the shiny lights lured me across. I made some great contacts in the industry and worked with some fantastic enterprise customers in the last few years."

Falconer said his return to the company will give its current channel boss Frasier Norman – who had taken on some of the responsibilities of the UKI director role – a chance to fully focus on the channel.

In 2013, the vendor's co-founder Tyler Rohrer told CRN he wanted to double its partner base, which was 350 strong at the time.

Currently, the partner figure stands at about 700, some 42 of which are in the UK, including Kelway, Atos and CSA Waverley.

The company's chief operating officer, Chris Akerberg, said it is still looking to recruit partners, but is being selective about who it signs up from now on.

He said: "We have trimmed down our focus from trying to get too many partners to make sure we have the ones that can help us scale the business but also have the relationships with the right kind of end user in the right verticals."