Minx makes Cisco Gold partner portal claim

VAR Minx has claimed that it will become the first of Cisco’s UK Gold partners to offer a dedicated online facility for SMEs when it launches its Minx Direct portal on 1 April.

The portal will be fronted by a chatroom and advice centre, but it will link to an online configurator offering Cisco and Linksys kit.

Les Cooper, sales and marketing director at Minx, said: “The attraction is that we are selling Cisco online with a Gold partner badge. No other Cisco Gold partner has an online facility aimed at SMEs.”

Despite outlining hopes that the unit will contribute £2m to Minx’s top line in the first year, Cooper stressed it would take 12 months before the concept was in full swing.

He added that Minx is in talks with other vendors and financing firms with a view to linking through to their sites.

Fausto Amoroso, vice-president of marketing at Cisco Gold partner Affiniti, said: “With the SME market, it has to be very easy for customers to get access to equipment quickly. A product portal does this.”

Martin Balaam, chief executive of Cisco Gold partner Redstone, said: “The difficulty is: is it a solutions provider or a tin-shifter? It’s hard to be a solutions provider if customers are buying a piece of kit off the web.”

Minx’s new SME venture comes despite the VAR’s recent announcement that it will focus solely on the mid-market (CRN, 2 February).

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