After working as chief financial officer since January, Joseph Corbett steps down from the post. CEO Harry You will take over his duties while a search is conducted.BearingPoint, which has been rebuilding its management team since the departure of senior managers last November, now finds itself with another role to fill.
Joseph Corbett on Tuesday resigned from his post as chief financial officer, which he had held since January. Corbett's departure "was through mutual agreement," according to a company statement. He will remain with BearingPoint for a transitional period.
Harry You, named CEO of BearingPoint Inc. in March, will take over Corbett's CFO duties while a search is conducted for a new CFO.
Speaking at a UBS technology conference this week, You told analysts that Corbett's departure was not based on any financial revelation stemming from the ongoing audit of the company's 2004 financial statements.
"Joe told our board and the audit committee there was nothing in our processes and controls that he was disturbed about that he hadn't discussed with them already," You said.
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Former CEO Randolph Blazer resigned last November following problems with the company's financial systems; then-CFO Robert Falcone retired soon after. Corbett moved over from the CFO slot at Intelsat to replace Falcone. You was appointed CEO in March.
You told analysts to expect BearingPoint to "augment" its senior management team in the next three to six months. The company has been in rebuilding mode since late last year, following the departures of its CEO and then-CFO.
Winternals Makes Channel Transition
Winternals Software LP has recruited more than 200 resellers to its fledgling channel program and expects to derive more than 30 percent of its sales through the channel by year's end.
The maker of Windows systems recovery and data protection products had been a direct seller, but it unveiled its Winternals Edge channel initiative in January.
Winternal's initial recruitment drive boosted reseller business to 20 percent of the company's first-quarter revenue. The company now aims to generate reseller sales in the 85 percent range in the next three to five years, said Melissa Hadley, director of channels at Winternals.
"Our goal is to be a channel company," she said.
To get there, Winternals has rolled out a three-tiered program. Entry-level Select resellers have no revenue or training commitment and receive a minimal discount on products. But these resellers do have access to marketing materials and the company's partner portal.
The Select level is designed for resellers that may sell the product only occasionally. "We recognize the fact that a lot of Select partners … do a one-time deal based on customer demand," Hadley said.
Resellers in the midtier, Premier category must train two salespeople and one technical representative on the company's products and agree to a revenue commitment of $50,000 for the first year in the program. Resellers in this bracket receive 20 percent product discounts, priority pre- and post-sales support, and marketing development funds.
To reach Elite level, resellers commit to $100,000 in orders for the first year and agree to a jointly defined training regimen. Resellers at this level qualify for 25 percent product discounts, priority pre- and post-sales support, marketing development funds, and onsite training.
Premier and Elite resellers also may participate in Winternals' Partner Rewards Program. Reseller employees earn points for certain actions, such as entering a lead on the partner portal. Rewards include consumer electronics items such as digital camcorders and iPod shuffles.
Winternals decided to tap the channel to boost revenue growth and reach new markets, company officials said.
"We had reached the point where we weren't going to proportionally increase revenue just by adding more sales folks," Hadley said. "We had extended our reach as far as it could go." A company spokesman noted that the company's pace of growth had slowed in recent years.
Next Page: Avnet restructures.
Avnet Restructures
Avnet Technology Solutions on Monday disclosed a realignment intended to help the company marshal its resources within geographic areas.
The $4 billion operating group of Avnet Inc. has launched Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas region. Heading the Americas region are Fred Cuen and Steve Tepedino, who will serve as co-presidents. Both hold responsibility for the region's strategic direction, performance and operations.
Avnet Partner Solutions, Americas, a value-added distributor, reports directly to Cuen. That operation includes Avnet's Canadian and Mexican distribution business. Avnet Applied Computing Solutions, which handles the embedded OEM market, and Avnet Enterprise Solutions, a network integrator, report to Tepedino.
Tepedino has been tasked with developing strategic efforts in high-growth customer segments and vertical markets, while Cuen will be responsible for the development of new solutions and professional services. Initiatives will involve horizontal markets such as security and vertical markets such as financial services, Cuen noted.
Cuen said the reorganization will enable the company to "design solutions that go across all of the manufacturers that we have today." In the past, Avnet tended to develop technology solutions and practices based on one particular manufacturer, he said.
WholeSecurity Cultivates Resellers
WholeSecurity Inc. aims to build a reseller channel as it pursues a broader market for its endpoint security products.
The Austin, Texas, company spent the first two years of its existence selling directly to early adopters but now targets mainstream markets, said Anne Hiller, senior vice president of business development at WholeSecurity.
"That [shift] dictated the need to put the product out in a way that mainstream customers want to buy the technology," she said. "That absolutely means going out to the channel."
WholeSecurity's early customers include financial giants such as Comerica. The company's channel play will help it expand into credit unions, thrifts and other midmarket concerns, Hiller said.
To cultivate its channel, WholeSecurity last month launched its LockStep Partner Program, which includes resellers, distributors, systems integrators and OEMs. The program provides demand-generation programs, training and marketing support.
Resellers also gain access to the company's Confidence Online product set.
Confidence Online Enterprise Edition, for example, provides on-demand protection for users logging into networks through remote-access technologies such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) VPNs, Citrix Systems Inc.'s MetaFrame Access Suite, and Webmail.
The product also offers always-on protection for managed endpoints on a local-area network or allows access to the LAN through an IPSEC VPN. The company also markets products that protect an organization's customers against phishing attacks and malicious code.
Confidence Online integrates with SSL VPNs from companies such as Juniper Networks and Aventail Corp. It also links with Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite, IPSEC VPNs and Web-enabled e-mail solutions from Microsoft Corp. and IBM.
As WholeSecurity courts channel players, the company is getting a lift from the established channels of the SSL VPN vendors. "Selling through their reseller channel has been very effective," she said.
Overall, the company looks for resellers with an established security practice and experience handling an SSL VPN or IPSEC VPM product line. WholeSecurity also seeks Citrix Gold/Platinum resellers and Microsoft Gold resellers.
Ingram Carries Citrix VPN Gear
Ingram Micro Inc. on Tuesday reported that it will be the first distributor to offer Citrix Systems Inc.'s Access Gateway, an SSL VPN appliance.
Ingram Micro will be the sole distributor of this product through June 30, the company said. Citrix announced Access Gateway in April as part of its Citrix Access Suite 4.0 rollout. Access Suite includes Citrix Presentation Server 4.0, Citrix Password Manager 4.0 and Access Gateway, which supports both data and voice applications.
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