D-Link changes its image

Maurice Famularo, marketing director A/NZ, D-Link told CRN that internal changes are being made to draw attention to the company’s enterprise offerings.

“When people think D-Link, they automatically think consumer products,” he said. “We are trying to change that perception by focusing on our sales approach.”

Famularo claimed D-Link is establishing a ‘pre-sales’ team to concentrate on the technical side of product development and a ‘general sales’ team for business development.

“The advantage this gives us is that we’re involved in the sales process right from the beginning and know exactly what the customer wants,” he said.

The introduction of broadband to the consumer market acted as an accelerator in forming the vendor’s consumer image, said Famularo. He explained that consumer demand for D-Link products escalated when major Australian Telco’s decreased their broadband prices, making it affordable for end-users.

Famularo added that for many years D-Link was purely focused on the research and development of its solutions and unwittingly became more consumer-centric.

“We have a strong consumer brand, however a weak business brand,” he commented.

Looking ahead, D-Link is initiating various channel initiatives in an attempt to alter its current image and educate resellers. These include the Deal Certified Network Engineer (DCNE) training program and a modified partner portal due to launch in a few weeks.