Infinigate targets MobileIron partners with Accellion signing

Managed file transfer (MFT) player Accellion moves to a two-tier model as it looks to triple. partner base

Distributor Infinigate UK is targeting MobileIron partners with its latest signing Accellion, which is moving away from its direct and single-tier model with this deal.

Founded in 1999, Accellion is a managed file transfer (MFT) vendor providing a content-sharing platform for enterprises through its kiteworks product.

In 2010 the US-based vendor saw about 80 per cent of its UK business go direct, but this has reduced to around 45 per cent, with the rest coming through resellers with a single-tier model. But it is moving to a two-tier system with the Infinigate partnership and wants to see 100 per cent of its UK business go through the channel, EMEA vice president Keith Poyser said.

He said the decision to move to a tier-two system was because of market interest and Infinigate was chosen because of its reputation.

"What I wanted to do in the UK, because of demand, was scale out the business in a way that was most efficient for us," Poyser said. "So I started to talk to [Infinigate's] Alex [Teh] around a year ago and said I needed a channel partner that has a good understanding of security, has solid pre-sales and has credibility in these markets. Infinigate ticked all those boxes."

Poyser said he will align its UK sales force behind its partners rather than direct customers.

Teh, joint managing director of Infinigate UK, said he is hoping to triple or quadruple Accellion's partner base which consists of five core partners in the UK.

He said he is targeting mobile enterprise management (MEM) vendor MobileIron's partners, as its technology is complementary and integrates well with Accellion, although the two vendors don't have a formal relationship.

"There are a lot of MobileIron partners out there and just looking at their partner base, we know quite a few of them really well," he said. "I don't want to name the partners but [getting] at least half a dozen MobileIron partners working with us is not a hard ask. But it's not just MobileIron partners we are going after; it's partners who are in the mobility and security space."

Teh added that this signing was a natural choice for Infinigate.

"Accellion fits perfectly into our solution stack, particularly in the mobility space," he said. "We are seeing massive growth in demand for organisations looking to collaborate and share information confidentially and securely. Accellion does a phenomenal job in that whole area. It has been inundated with enquiries and opportunities from end users and resellers."