Sun appoints channel development partner for SA

Sun Microsystems SA has appointed Orcom as its official CDP (channel development partner) for SA to spearhead the company's enterprise market focus.

Orcom, a black empowerment (BE) company, will recruit value-added resellers (VARs) to promote and sell Sun technologies to SA's general business segment, which is approximately 80% of the market.

"Sun has been extremely successful in the high-end data centre segment of the market, but we do have a number of offerings that have been developed specifically for the small and mid-sized businesses. Our commitment to SMB's is highlighted by products designed to provide this sector with midframe functionality at extremely cost competitive prices," says Daryl Blundell, solutions sales manager at Sun Microsystems SA.

"These offerings for SMB's, combined with Sun's new CDP model, means Orcom is the ideal partner to enable a new breed of VAR partners access to Sun's technology, developing bundled solutions targeted at the general business space."

Comments Kevin Jones, general manager of Orcom: "Our focus is 99% on the general business space, not on Sun's foundation (large corporate) accounts, which will still be handled by their direct resellers.

"In the past Sun had neither the manpower nor partners in SA to reach out to VARs, and focused on the high-end market via direct resellers. However, we're going to change this dynamic, by empowering resellers to successfully sell Sun solutions while at the same time expanding Sun's bandwidth in the country."

Orcom is providing local VARs with the 'know how' and the skills, as well as technology, logistics and infrastructure support. And although the company doesn't deal directly with end-users, Orcom's expertise can be utilised by resellers when they require it.

"So far the feedback from resellers has been very positive. They all feel that Sun has taken a step in the right direction. The general business market has expanded significantly in recent years. Resellers as well as Sun need to capitalise on this growth," says Jones.

Adds Blundell: "Our entry-level server range, such as the Sun Fire V880, fits comfortably in the general business space as they are competitively priced and bundled with midframe technologies such as the Solaris Operating Environment (OE) and UltraSPARC III processors. Sun's solutions are developed for all segments of the market."

Orcom is a SME (small and medium enterprise) business and, in the spirit of BE, truly committed to upliftment and development of local IT in SA.