Unixpac looks to double reseller count

Unixpac is looking to double its resellers base as it seeks partners willing to take on new and innovative products in the security area.

The distributor currently deals with more than 50 resellers. It hoped to grow that to about 100 in the next 12 months, managing director of Unixpac, Tom Piotrowski, said.

"We are now putting a bit more emphasis on those resellers that are keen to promote the new areas in security, for example, Network Access Control. The whole idea is to give them a chance, and give them access to products," he said.

In the 1990s Unixpac's business was based on providing Unix and system admin tools. When it switched attention to security several years back it spent a great deal of time cultivating relationships with big systems integrator and resellers, Piotrowski said.

"But we see nowadays - just in the past year -there is a growing acceptance, even with big government customers and businesses, in dealing with smaller organsiations [resellers] who seem to be far more responsive, and proactive - to the point that I feel that it is a good time to give them a chance," he said.

"I find that very often, very big systems integrators are quite rigid in adopting this new technology into their business process. They do have security practice managers who are fully aware of everything, but when it comes to the business unit, they only sell products that are well proven and entrenched in the market place, without venturing into new technology."