NetApp opens a distribution channel

Network Appliance has opened a distribution channel in Australia, signing Avnet Partner Solutions as its sole partner selling its line of storage products to the local reseller channel.

Speaking to CRN, Peter O'Connor (pictured), the newly appointed managing director at NetApp Australia and New Zealand, said the storage company had previously only sold direct to about 18 tier-one resellers.

"We want to focus on a group of partners to give them the service levels that we don't have the resources to address at the moment," he said.

NetApp has had an existing distribution agreement in place with Avnet in the US for several years.

O'Connor said that in the past, the vendor's Australian operations have been focused mainly on big accounts like banks and financial institutions.

"We want to get our business here in line with NetApp's strategy around the world that has been more channel-focused," he said.

Avnet also represents IBM and HP storage products in Australia and this month also added CommVault to its list.

"We are working to build up this storage capability, moving from traditional attached storage to the non-attached [SAN and NAS] area," said Colin McKenna, managing director at Avnet Partner Solutions.

Storage sales represented between 15 and 20 percent of the distributor's business, he said.