e92plus completes double vendor signing with Swivel and NetScout

Distributor bolsters security and networking offering, with second security vendor addition to be announced imminently

Distributor e92plus has added to its security and networking portfolios with a double vendor signing.

The Surbiton-based distributor has added security authentication vendor Swivel Secure to its security offering, while NetScout has been added on the networking side of the business.

Neil Langridge, marketing director at e92plus, said the two additions will complement the vendors already in both portfolios, with a third vendor set to be announced imminently to bolster the distributor's security offering further.

"We didn't have an authentication vendor in place so Swivel obviously fits in very nicely there, and the same with NetScout," he said. "[NetScout] further enhances the networking side of our portfolio and complements well the likes of Xirrus who we already work with.

"There is potentially another one," he added. "We're always looking both in terms of larger vendors we can bring in and also there are a few smaller ones that we are looking at as well, in terms of where the next big thing is going to be."

Swivel

E92plus will become Swivel's first distributor in the UK as the vendor switches from a single-tier to a two-tier model.

"They've just worked directly with resellers [previously] but obviously they're looking to increase and scale up a little bit," Langridge said.

"They have some new people on board and some good plans in terms of where they want to go, so they've signed up with us to move solely two-tier which is a big move for them.

"We're coming on board to work with and support the existing partner base but also bring new partners onboard."

Langridge said the Swivel addition should appeal specifically to security MSPs with a particular interest in moving customers to the cloud.

"Authentication is one of those ones where it is often viewed as an add-on sale," he said. "I think for any security VAR there is a definite interest, not just in the managed-services space but for anyone who has been talking to their customers about cloud applications, this is a nice complement to add on.

"Everyone is moving to the cloud, whether they're coming from a security background… or they're coming from a perspective where they're a Microsoft house and they're talking about Office 365. This is a nice add-on because if you're doing that you need to be able to design this security in [to the solution] from the off."

NETSCOUT

E92plus has also signed up NetScout on the networking side of the business, joining Arrow as the vendor's UK distributor.

Langridge said that e92plus will look to bring a different partner base to NetScout than Arrow's, with more of a focus on the SMB market.

"We share a couple of vendors with Arrow already," he said. "Obviously we're a very different beast from them so we've been brought on to much more aggressively drive partner recruitment and evangelise the products out there in the channel; and obviously we have a bit of a different partner base to Arrow so especially in that SMB, mid-market and corporate reseller - that's where we see a lot of opportunity."

Langridge explained that the NetScout addition will complement the solutions its partners already sell around wireless networking.

NetScout offers products that help to optimise the performance of devices connected to wired and wireless networks.

"NetScout is about bridging that gap between the WiFi and wired networking, and then over to security," he said. "People still have a lot of challenges and fear around moving to WiFi.

"It's not always about selling people a new solution, but it's about helping people optimise what they already have in terms of improving the ROI on that investment and what NetScout has is a large product range."