C2000 makes SME push

Computer 2000 has officially launched a campaign to sell IBM servers to SME resellers.

The distributor signed up to sell IBM's x servers and workstations last August, while IBM launched its server campaign for SMEs in December.

Yet C2000 tried to make out in a press release it published today this was all new: "Computer 2000, the UK arm of Tech Data, has signed a major distribution agreement with IBM that extends the availability of the vendor’s Express Seller programme," it said.

Joe Senior, business unit executive for IBM's integrated partner team, said in a statement: "Computer 2000 adds a new and valuable dimension to our distribution network."

However, Mark Glasspool, general manager of PC systems and servers at C2000, told The Register that he had been tooling and stocking up since the Express Server promotion started in December. A promotion at the time would have drawn more sales than he could handle.

Now it was all official, the deal, which IBM has called its Express Seller scheme, meant C2000 could offer "15 to 20 per cent" discounts on single-unit sales of IBM servers. The trade-off was that the discount was fixed, he said.

Prior to December, C2000 had been selling IBM servers through its enterprise sales arm at Azlan, its sister-company.

Now part of SME sales at C2000, the IBM boxes enjoy the attention of eight dedicated server sales bods and three permanent IBM employees. Glasspool refused to say how much marketing money it was getting from IBM to run the programme.

The IBM promotion runs through all its UK distributors. ®