Aventail, MOCA Ink Distribution Pact For Appliances

SSL VPN vendor Aventail this week plans to unveil a distribution agreement with the MOCA division of Arrow Electronics for its EX-1500 and EX-750 families of appliances.

The deal, effective immediately, marks Seattle-based Aventail's first two-tier distribution pact in North America, adding to its existing distributor base in Europe and Asia. MOCA works mostly with solution providers in the Sun Microsystems channel community.

Harvey Storms, director of channel marketing at Aventail, said solution providers that meet certain requirements will be eligible for MOCA's program and will be locked in at the same margins they were earning with Aventail.

"We want to make sure that there is a smooth transition for our channel partners into the new program," Storms said. "We don't have any desire to build channel conflict into our model."

Not all of Aventail's channel partners will be eligible to work with MOCA. As Storms explained, only solution providers that meet certain sales volumes and that specialize in security or network management will have the opportunity to make the switch to the distributor. He declined to comment on how many solution providers would be eligible.Kevin Powell, vice president of enterprise software for MOCA, Englewood, Colo., said under the deal with Aventail, the distributor plans to support participating resellers with business development activities such as training, certification, customized marketing campaigns, demand-generation activities and quoting assistance.

The companies also will offer a new certification related to technical training under the pact, he said. Powell intends to introduce the Aventail product line to partners at MOCA's Net@Work conference in San Diego next week.

"This is a win-win for both organizations," he said. "We are ready to grow together."

Todd Gabel, vice president of sales at Nexum, Chicago, said program benefits like the ones cited above lay the groundwork for a lasting relationship.

"I'm delighted at the prospect of having someone support us from a higher level," he said. "If we're loyal to [MOCA] and we continue to drive business through Aventail, this will be great for everyone involved."0