Stordis ramps up portfolio and UK operations
Specialist distie Stordis is ramping up its UK operation with a new local team, a new agreement with Emulex (NYSE:ELX) and a pending contract with Mellanox (NASDAQ:MLNX) to add to its portfolio of performance-focused networking and storage products.
Although German-centric, the firm now does around 25 percent of its business in the UK and has appointed its first UK sales manager and according to Stordis CEO Alexander Jeffries, “We will add several more technical and channel support people,” over the next few months.
Jeffries aims to rival specialist storage vendors such as Hammer but with a focus on more technical offerings such as low latency switching, 10GBe and Infiniband. The deal with Emulex adds the number two vendor in the Fibre channel and 10GB adaptor market.
With Emulex, Stordis also joins a contingent of broadliners such as Avnet and Azlan as well as Hammer. The “late stage” deal with Mellanox, a leading provider of Infiniband switches will also enhance its portfolio into a sector popular with HPC customers. Jeffries confirmed that it will add “several more vendors” with complementary products over the next few months.
“The broadliners don’t have the knowledge,” says Jeffries who believes there is scope for another “focused” high performance networking and storage specialist distie in the UK. The firm has between 150 and 200 UK partners and the expansion is aimed at better engagement and less about size: “We don’t want to be a broadliner,” he stresses.
The firm also carries an extensive Fujitsu low latency networking portfolio and high-end SAN storage solutions form Dot Hill. It’s this last relationship that the firm is keen to underscore. One of Dot Hill’s largest customer is its OEM relationship with HP. However, the recently launched Dot Hill 3003 series product is not part of the HP OEM agreement but is carried by the distie under the Dot Hill brand. Stordis claims the new box is twice as fast as the old HP branded box for a 25 percent premium. “HP won’t sell it as it would hurt its EVA business,” claims Jeffries.
However, the distie admits that it is in a tricky position promoting this benefit without the support of a vendor fearful of disrupting a crucial OEM arrangement.
