The agreement provides Azlan, and its extensive European network of resellers, the ability to meet the growing demand for enterprise-wide and B2B visual collaboration solutions that help customers reduce costs and optimise performance.  For selected existing Tandberg partners Azlan will provide specialist support, and in addition it will  leverage Tandberg’s enVision partner program to invest in recruitment, training and business development initiatives, to help guide new partners into the substantial opportunity within both the enterprise and SMB sectors.

Asked about how this news fits into Azlan’s technology portfolio, Simon England, Azlan’s European Managing Director states: “This agreement adds an important dimension to our current portfolio of solutions. Tandberg is a leading player in this exciting market with an excellent range of solutions; from the boardroom right through to desk top solutions within a small business”.

England goes on to say: “Fuelled by demands to cut travel costs and improve communication within virtual teams, technologies such as video conferencing and telepresence are grabbing a lot of attention right now. This type of high growth product line presents resellers with tremendous potential to grow their revenue streams and their value-added business.”

Tandberg is upbeat about this agreement and Azlan’s ability to expand its reach within European IT channels. “As organisations realise the rapid return on investment from video, we in turn must have a channel that is primed to serve the depth and scale of the market,” said Wayne Stephens, VP Channels EMEA, Tandberg. “For Tandberg, Azlan is perfectly placed to develop and prepare the channel. Together, we can meet the increasing demand for video at the desktop as part of a unified communications platform right through to the immersive telepresence suite.”

The market for video conferencing solutions is expected to have a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent per annum between 2007 and 2013, reaching a total value of $5.36 billion*1. In the first nine months of 2008, Tandberg claimed 40 per cent of the end-point sector and 45 per cent of the infrastructure segment of the market with its comprehensive range of scalable, standards-based solutions. These range from easy-to-use high-definition personal video and room based systems to the ultimate immersive telepresence experience, supported by award winning network infrastructure.

The agreement with Tandberg also enables Azlan to further advance its ambition of becoming the distribution partner of choice for advanced solutions in key growth areas of the market and is an excellent compliment to support Azlan’s success in driving Unified Communications into the channel. “Azlan is fully committed to driving long-term business development for its partners. We will continue to forge relationships that will enable us to support resellers as they expand their knowledge base and enter new markets where there is the same potential for accelerated growth that we see with Tandberg”, says England.

Initially, partners in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Sweden will be able to access Tandberg products from Azlan.  Availability will be extended to other countries throughout Europe later this year.