Kaminario signs with CMS for 'true channel' push
Traditional two-tier distribution model has become diluted in recent years, flash firm's channel boss claims
Flash startup Kaminario has appointed CMS Distribution as its sole distie in the UK and Ireland as it pledges to go back to basics with a "true" two-tier distribution channel.
Kaminario, which was set up in 2010, is a startup all-flash vendor based in Massachusetts. It claims to be "ahead of the times" and offers an average price per gigabyte of storage of less than $1 - something it claims stands it apart from competitors.
The company has an established presence in its home nation and has recently launched an EMEA push, signing flash veteran Vince Blackall as its EMEA channel director. He has held similar roles at the likes of Pure Storage and Violin Memory in recent years, and has been tasked with building his new employer's channel from scratch.
Kaminario has signed up a number of staff who are currently working their notice periods, and by the end of this month, it will have a five-strong UK team - two sales staff, two techies and UK and Ireland channel boss Mark Walker, who recently joined from Commtech.
Blackall - who took on the EMEA channel director role in August - said he relishes the idea of building his own channel and said getting back to basics is essential for him.
"It's the first time in my career I have been able to build a channel strategy from the very beginning," he said. "I am going back to how it used to be in as much as [it will be a] true, two-tier distribution. I have signed CMS - they will get a price list and will be entirely responsible for dealing with the commercial aspects with their resellers.
"Those resellers will be entirely responsible for end-user pricing and closing those deals. We will have an aggressive direct-touch sales force, but it will be a true direct-touch sales force. It will be a true partnership with resellers. We will not get into pricing discussions with end users. We will allow the channel to retain their own margin. I believe that strategy - as simple as it is - has been diluted and become a little overcomplicated over the last few years, so I want to get back to that."
Kaminario is yet to sign up any reseller partners, Blackall said, because he wanted to get a distie in the bag first. He said he is in talks with five resellers which are interested in his firm's kit, which he will put in touch with CMS once their partnership gets into full swing on Monday morning.
The flash space is a crowded market at the moment, with storage giants such as EMC throwing its weight around to fend off the likes of Pure Storage and Violin Memory. Blackall - who has run channels for both of the latter firms - said one of Kaminario's unique offerings is its affordable price point.
"[We] give the customers the opportunity of implementing our products at a very similar price to disk," he said. "We are saying Kaminario represents a general purpose storage platform based on flash. Regardless of the workload or application you throw at it, it deals with it equally efficiently. That is a unique aspect to us against our competition. At a retail price we are extremely competitive, with a margin for the channel and with a clean strategy."
Blackall said CMS was top of his list of disties to approach.
"I just felt [with] the current state of Kaminario in the channel, to get the attention and focus of a very, very large distributor would be difficult," he said.
"And if I go to an incubator distributor or a small distributor, the last thing a small company needs is another small company. So I wanted someone who had some power and some reach. I've done business with CMS with a number of businesses in the past, I know the management team and I know the ethic of the company."