GE Access: OneTech Support

End users likely would be able to contact GE Access technical support once or twice for free before being offered a OneTech support contract through their solution provider, said Mike McLaughlin, director of professional services at GE Access.

The Boulder-based distributor created its OneTech program last year for solution providers that choose not to manage their own multivendor support desks.

"This was a program requested by our solution providers, but there was some level of trepidation, maybe because it was new and we hadn't done it before," McLaughlin said. "We want the reseller and end user to be comfortable, not just on the technical side, but also the administrative side."

"I have one customer on OneTech that had no questions, but [the free trial is an excellent plan that I will offer in the future," said Gregory Blair, business consultant at Pomeroy Computer Resources, a Hebron, Ky.-based solution provider.

OneTech initially covered Sun Microsystems and its iPlanet software. GE Access this week plans to add StorageTek, Tarantella and Nokia and expects to add more vendors in the future.

"What I like is it's one contract and one phone call. There's less finger-pointing between vendors," Blair said.

OneTech traffic in the June quarter was five times greater than GE Access' expectations, said Michael Minard, executive vice president.

The distributor expects even more growth as a result of the changes.

"The power of 'try before you buy' allows resellers to adjust to a new business model. It gets them a little more familiar with this concept," Minard said.

The distributor has 30 engineers dedicated to OneTech. "Every end-user environment will be different. Their needs and their support processes will be different. So it's important to be as flexible as we can," McLaughlin said.