Hosted IP services provider wants VARs that are eager to look towards convergence as the market changes

Hosted IP telephony services provider TeleWare is looking for new VARs to strengthen its northern presence.

The company said that, despite being based in Yorkshire, most of its resellers work in the south. It is now looking to recruit additional VARs to strike a geographical balance.

Lesley Hansen, marketing director at TeleWare, said: “We have eight VARs, but we want to increase that figure in the north-east, north-west and Scotland. We want 10 to 12 VARs to get the northern coverage.”

Hansen added that the VARs should understand telephony and IT, and be keen to look toward convergence as the market changes.

“The resellers moving into convergence are the ones that understand the need to change,” she said. “It is not about where resellers have come from, but about their vision.”

Hansen added that resellers should look to work with TeleWare because voice and data VARs need to alter their business model to succeed in convergence.

“If you are a reseller selling minutes, you can see sales going down,” she said. “If you are selling data products, you are seeing margins drop to about 10 per cent. These resellers must add to their portfolios. They need to be making a decent margin.”

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN Research, said: “It makes sense for TeleWare to get a geographical spread. Another option could be to sign a larger partner who can cover the country.

“TeleWare can tailor its product to the clients’ needs on a bespoke basis.”