Anti-virus vendor claims plans to double SME VAR network are achievable

Trend Micro aims to boost its portfolio among SME resellers through a series of roadshows across the country in February and March.

The anti-virus vendor expects 400 partners to attend the events in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Dublin. The seminars will focus on the roadmap for Trend Micro’s Worry Free SME software and its strategic direction.

Paul Anderson, sales director for the UK and Ireland at Trend Micro, said the vendor is aiming to double its nascent SME reseller base to 2,000 in 2008.

“That might seem aggressive but it is achievable,” he said. “We want to make it easier for resellers to do business and a core element of that is our Worry Free remote manager, which allows resellers to manage a number of end users remotely from one console.”

Although Anderson listed McAfee, Symantec and Sophos as the SME market’s main protagonists, he added that “aggressive ankle biters”, such as Panda and Kaspersky, are also making headway.

“They are being very aggressive and trying to buy market share, but you need to have good cash to do this long term,” he warned.

Simon Geach, UK sales director at Kaspersky, said: “It is nice to be recognised as being aggressive, but Trend might be confusing aggression with an organisation that has a tight strategy for rapid and sustainable growth.”

Chris Durnan, sales director at Trend Micro reseller GSS, said: “Trend wants the proximity [local] resellers on board for full geographic coverage, but I think this is a strategy that could go horribly wrong. There are just too many resellers.”