CA Aims At White Box Channel, Server Market

Computer Associates International is set to launch a broad effort to drive its entire product line further into the OEM space, with an emphasis on capturing white-box PC and server market share.

The company has hired Sean Aryai, formerly the director of OEM marketing at systems builder Systemax, to serve as CA's new OEM channel marketing manager, a position Aryai said will cater primarily to the white-box OEM market.

Aryai will spearhead Islandia, N.Y.-based CA's attempt to use its antivirus products penetrate a market that so far has been dominated by Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro, according to Aryai. CA then will atempt to cut even further into the white-box channel by offering what most of its antivirus competitors do not have: antivirus system, storage and software management tools.

"The strategy is to get CA's foot in the door with antivirus, then offer the full breadth of CA's products to grab as much market share in the white-box space as possible," Aryai said.

CA is committed to providing significant support to make this happen, Aryai said, and a new white-box OEM channel program is already in the works."About 45 percent of the PCs sold to enterprises are not built by the top 10 vendors. So if you don't take advantage of that 45 percent, that's the size of a market you are missing out on," said Aryai.

Aryai begins work at CA Aug. 2.