Netgear is delving into the realm of value-added distribution by signing on with Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS). The maker of switches and routers for the small business and home market believes the distribution agreement will help it to better support its resellers and increase its share in the market against major competitors Linksys (a division of Cisco) and D-Link.
Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) has signed on to become the first value-added distributor for Netgear products in North America.
The agreement calls for Arrow ECS to distribute Netgear’s full product portfolio of networking and small/medium business enterprise security products. According to Netgear, the distribution agreement with Arrow ECS will enable the company to provide more support for its channel resellers while also building on its market share.
“Our alliance with Arrow ECS enables Netgear to provide more support for our resellers and increase market share for our security solutions,” said Michael Werdann, vice president of sales for North America at Netgear, in a statement. “Arrow ECS brings outstanding reseller enablement programs, training and educational services that will greatly benefit our resellers.”
With Arrow ECS’s channel management programs and its ability to help resellers grow their businesses and better support their own customers, Netgear will have access to the distributor’s broad network of programs and services, the companies said. Additionally, Netgear and its channel partners will have access to Arrow ECS initiatives around pre-sales and technical support, marketing and lead generation, and financing and professional services.
“We have developed an aggressive marketing campaign to reach both the Netgear and Arrow reseller community regarding the value in our new relationship and how we can together provide the appropriate channel management techniques and technology to help accelerate their growth and profitability,” said Bill Botti, president and CEO of Arrow ECS’s Alternative Technology group.
Netgear’s channel strategy has revolved around its two-tier PowerShift Partner Program for the last three years. With the new relationship with Arrow ECS, Netgear will also take its entire product portfolio through distribution, but Botti said Arrow will be strongly focused on Netgear’s security products.
“Netgear has a comprehensive portfolio of networking and security products. We will position the networking products to our mid-market resellers as a strong alternative to other networking solutions in this marketplace where Netgear already has a strong brand. Our focus will be in their new security products and the introduction of this new Netgear technology into our strong security reseller base,” Botti said.
Netgear’s product portfolio includes networking hardware equipment for the small/medium business, consumer and broadband service provider markets.
“Netgear solutions are highly complementary to the existing products in our portfolio,” Botti said. “We look forward to introducing Netgear to our resellers and assisting them with delivering a high-performance, cost-effective networking and security management solution to their customers.”