Connectivity products that are compatible with the likes of Cisco, IBM and HP can save users 70% in costs, but channels have to withstand vendor pressure
Some time in the next month or so, distributor Exertis will start supplying Prolabs connectivity products to channels in EMEA. It is part of a soft launch and slow ramp-up of the deal; with compatible connective as the story – majoring on optical transceivers and cabling.
Nick Moglia, Prolabs CEO talked to IT Europa at the recent CloudExpo Europe show:
“From our perspective – clearly we operate in the compatible space with alternatives to Cisco, IBM, HP. We are beginning to see a shift in the market which hopefully we are also creating, where customers can save money by using compatible products instead. And these savings can be considerable - the 70% level of savings.
In our market this is still relatively new, because the OEMs have dominated the market for so long, and one of the tactics they use is to say that use of compatible invalidates any guarantees in the whole system, which is nonsense. So we have an ongoing education process. This is a vast market, he adds.
It doesn't guarantee anything other than that its products do what it says, but “we point to references on Cisco's web site, which clearly state that customers are entitled to use third party optics. It is an ongoing education process.
“The market is still dominated by people like Cisco, but there is an arrogance. The new mentality of open computing is helping us.”
It is down to the customer to decide what they want. We have to educate the customer that the products can be cheaper but still fully warranted. We have invested in the product and technical side so that they re high quality and we have done the due diligence for customers wanting to use our products. We put the brand behind the products.
Obviously the idea is to work with distribution, and it is a market they know. Prolabs grew as a brand within distributor Zycko, so understands the channel very well. It is now cutting the umbilical cord and is a completely separate management with its own infrastructure. Zycko is one of its distributors for these historical reasons, he explains.
“We are bringing on distributors, Exertis has been added in EMEA. A lot of these companies will look at our products before they bring them into the portfolio, so they are checking on what we say about the high quality.”
None of the big companies can stop third party optics going into systems ,but they can put pressure of channels, he acknowledges. “Because we are independent we are under no pressure and we have chosen distribution partners who do not supply the brands. The partners may well come under pressure from these vendors. We know some will and some won't – One of our biggest customers is a big Cisco customer but doesn't buy any optics from them.” Customers include the NHS and other large users, so the credibility is there.
It is down to companies like resellers to to show that they should not be bullied by the big companies, he concludes.
