More than 40 Linksys products to hit Australian channel

Australian resellers will have a slew of new Linksys product to choose from soon, with the brand getting a renewed push in the local market.

The rollout marks an "aggressive re-launch" for Linksys, following its acquisition by Belkin.

The Linksys catalogue will expand from very few products in the small business space to more than 40 over the next three months.

"Linksys had some heritage in SMB when it was part of the Cisco brand," said Belkin ANZ's head of product management and marketing, Brendan Sparks. "Now Linksys has been acquired by Belkin, it's the first time we've come back into the SMB channel, but with a whole new suite of products." 

New products already include smart switches, VPN routers, power of Ethernet injector and access points. Also launching will be IP security cameras, including pan and tilt outdoor cameras, network video recorders, as well as managed switches.

Overseas, the company's new flagship product is the WRT1900AC Wi-Fi Router, which Belkin claims offers the fastest wireless in the world.

Revenue from Belkin's channel business is up 300 percent year-on-year, Sparks said. "Our overall drive into the channel has escalated fairly aggressively."

With two brands to juggle and an increasingly sizeable product catalogue, Sparks said the company doesn't want to become a "one-stop shop".

"We're not looking to be a sourcing organisation that can just go and get everything off shelf. We have own factories in China. We are a true vendor, but we can offer a very broad range of products.

"The terminology one-stop-shop has negative connotations. It shows you don't have thought leadership in areas you're talking about. We have a very strong patent and r&d engine," he said.