Esat invests IEP1 million in extranet
Thursday, June 28 2001
by Rory Kelleher

The move is aimed to help increase Esat's business in the small and medium sized industry sector, which it estimates is worth IEP425 million, by giving extra support to its channel partners.

"We believe the best way to reach this market is through our value-added channel partners, who have the capabilities and expertise to effectively market and support the Esat Business product range," said Richard Cooke, chief executive officer, Esat Business.

The partners will be able to order on-line, access marketing support such as co-branding as well as industry research and news.

Companies will be able to access and reformat marketing material to suit their business. For example, companies would be able to create co-branded presentations tailored to their particular market as well as downloading logos and other marketing material for promotion of their products.

Esat said, partners would also have access to market research and industry data to help grow their business, which many could not afford otherwise.

Companies will have a code to access the site.

"For consumers, this will mean greater competition and levels of service for telecommunications services," said Cooke.

Over 165 companies which act as resellers, distributors and service providers across all industrial sectors will be able to access a range of services on the extranet. The extra tools and capabilities provided by extranet will ultimately lead to increased revenue for all according to Cooke.

Partners will also be able to access on-line training and e-learning materials for their employees as well as up to the minute information on Esat Business's products and services.

Esat Business has spent 10 months developing the channel partners programme and the companies involved in it range from Web design companies to systems integrators and voice resellers.

Among the partners are Eurocom, Mentec, Audito, IT Focus, Landmark Technology and System Software Integration.