Virtualisation management software vendor, Veeam, has appointed Ingram Micro as its second distributor.
The agreement was made in June but the pair just recently finalised the details.
Melbourne-based Techplus was previously Veeam’s only distributor. The vendor specialises in software that complements VMware vSphere.
With Veeam selling products to manage virtualised environments, the vendor found some difficulty in convincing customers to make that extra step and further invest in virtualisation.
“That is one of the reasons we wanted to partner with Ingram Micro since they have an ongoing relationship with VMware,” Veeam country manager, Don Williams, said. “It has been distributing VMware for a number of years and now it has an opportunity to bundle Veeam in with VMware products so reseller partners can sell both licences in one order form.”
The distributor’s resources and breath in the market would aid Veeam in bolstering its presence in the local market, he said.
“Ingram has 50 people in licensing and business development managers all around the country so if we do a good job enabling Ingram and its team, then we are going to enable the market,” Williams said. “It can enable reseller partners and bring in new ones that aren’t familiar with Veeam.”
The vendor has 100 resellers in its Pro Partner program.
Another drawcard was Ingram Micro's $10 million Partner Technology Centre. Williams said the facility not only showcased Veeam’s solutions but also acted as a place to train reseller partners in the vendor’s products.
With the vendor experiencing rapid growth, there is enough room for Techplus and Ingram Micro to distribute Veeam in Australia, according to Williams.
“I think the pie is going to get bigger so I think Techplus will continue to grow and so will Ingram,” he said.
Techplus managing director, Paul Kern, is unperturbed by Ingram Micro’s addition into Veeam’s channel.
“We don’t see Ingram as a threat to what we do,” he said. “We’re a value-added distributor and we think most of our customers will appreciate our knowledge in the product and all the things that comes form being a small value-added distributor as opposed to one that sells tens of thousands of products.”
Veeam has continued to ramp up its channel presence in Australia by hiring its first channel manager.
Rose-Maree Old has taken up the position. The local Veeam team now contains five people but Williams will be bringing on three more staff by the end of the year.
Veeam is also looking to expand beyond its VMware centric origins. It is exploring opportunities to work with Microsoft and its Hyper-V hypervisor-based virtualisation system.
The vendor already has products to support Microsoft but is looking to further grow the relationship.
