NetWorld defends drop by Exinda

CRN reported last week that unified performance management vendor, Exinda inked a new distribution deal with TechPlus. Melbourne-headquartered TechPlus was originally appointed a Exinda authorised distributor in 2003.

As part of this new agreement, TechPlus will recruit, assist with training and support a growing network of Exinda authorised and premier partners in the region.

Scott Frew, CEO of Distribution Central said he first heard of the vendor no longer wanting to be in partnership, when he received a letter in the mail.

“There was no contact at all except for a letter telling us we were no longer in partnership,” said Crew. “I suspect Exinda wasn’t too happy when we upgraded our hardware with Blue Coat,” he said.

Normally Frew would not comment when a vendor partnership dissolves, but he told CRN there was nothing he could do about Exinda’s product being in the bottom left of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.

“We could try and sell Exinda’s products to resellers until the cows came home, but the products weren’t well received. Other vendor products in the same portfolio are all on the top right of that Quadrant and it’s easier to convince resellers to take them on,” said Frew.

He told CRN there were no plans as yet to replace Exinda.

Paul Kern, managing director of TechPlus told CRN, it was chosen because it had been able to engage with more customers.

“Exinda could see we were getting interest from higher end integrators and we were able to create a proper channel for them,” he said.

According to Kerns any resellers that were once engaged with Distribution Central could come across to TechPlus.

“They will come on board with us and we will provide them with training. I don’t think there where that many any how,” he said.

Jim Christie VP of worldwide sales Exinda Networks told CRN the vendor’s worldwide endeavors have shown that having one focused distributor is best for Exinda and the market.

"Exinda has found TechPlus to be very focused, successful and a good fit for our business," he said. "Exinda has no ill will toward Distribution Central. Rather, we wish them well in their business endeavors."

Chrisitie said Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report was published in October, 2006, prior to Exinda’s launch of Unified Performance Management.

"The author of that report, Joe Skorupa, has updated his view on Exinda since the 2006 report. He was recently quoted in eWeek on May 18, 2007 as saying: "In the past [Exinda] was more of a [quality of service] and performance measurement provider, more like [Packeteer's] PacketShaper. They've added newer optimisation features," said Chrisite.

central gartner distribution exinda distribution lilia guan strategy