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Unify looks to boost size of channel business

Vendor plans to do more than half of its UK business in the channel by 2018

Unify plans to boost the amount of its business going through the UK channel to 60 per cent in the next two years, according to its new channel boss.

Barry Tuffs joined Unify as UK channel vice president of UK channel in January. He told CRN that the vendor has made strong progress since making a channel push last year, with the UK becoming one of only a few countries where Unify is not fully channel focused.

Tuffs said: "The channel revenue is up quarter over quarter which is a significant improvement and we also had our largest ever quarter on our OpenScape business, so that is two really good indicators that we are moving in the right way."

Globally, 50 per cent of Unify's revenue comes through the channel, rising to 70 per cent in EMEA, and Tuffs told CRN that in the next two years he would like to see the UK channel/direct split at "about the 60 per cent mark".

Growing its channel presence in the UK has proved challenging, he said, adding that the company is now focused on increasing the number of partners that it works with.

He said: "I need more partners across the whole of the UK to give a greater consideration rate and I need more capacity in the channel to move up from selling in small and medium enterprises, to mid-market and low-end enterprise.

"We don't get much coverage in mid-market and enterprise sectors, so I want to work with new partners and we are actively doing that.

"The more they become certified in Unify's partner programme, the more their revenues and margins will increase."

Tuffs is also looking to evolve Unify's relationship with its partners.

"Typically Unify, as a hardware vendor, talks to partners about how to build the boxes, and how to put things together - I don't think we necessarily talk to them about industry and market trends, or go out and actively help them sell.

"I want to adopt a sales-led approach with my team and help my partner community become focused on business outcomes.

"I want my team to be very much focused on helping partners sell, increase productivity, reduce costs, increase revenue and gain a competitive advantage against their opponents."