FalconStor helps channel with VMware SME sales discount

Data protection vendor FalconStor (NASDAQ: FALC) is offering its UK channel partners a £400 rebate on its Network Storage Server (NSS) Virtual Appliance for any client deal involving VMware's vSphere 4 Essentials Bundle.
The £800 list price NSS appliance provides a software based SAN for small VMware (NYSE:VMW) installations and “allows partners to very clearly demonstrate return on investment,” explains Thomas Barrett, VP of Northern Europe for FalconStor.

The bundled pricing, agreed with VMware, includes 1TB storage capacity licence, snapshot, replication and backup software as standard and requires only a valid vSphere 4 Essentials licence for partners to claim back the rebate.

“It’s a bit of a loss leader,” explains Barrett who believes that partners can use the discount to either get their foot in the door or as an “instant margin” for sales to small and medium business who are starting to adopt VMware and other virtualisation products.

FalconStor, which has traditionally been known as an OEM provider to larger vendors such as IBM, EMC and SUN has steadily increased its own channel in the UK and Barrett believes that the SME is a particularly good spot as virtualisation and lower cost, higher capacity drives become common place.

The firm, which now puts around 80 percent of its business through the channel, is still recruiting partners and Barrett believes that technically adept firms that want to remain “independent” of particular vendor allegiances are a good fit for the FalconStor partner programme.