Treo 300 Helps VARs Grip Vertical Opportunities

"We have a lot of customers in the construction industry, and having mobile e-mail is a great way for them to delegate responsibilities as they move from site to site," said Lenny DiCostanzo, vice president of business development at Emtec, a solution provider based in Cranford, N.J. "Also, for executives who move around a lot, the Treo 300 offers a nice way for them to grab their calendars and e-mail."

Executives and other office users are also some of the main customers that Waco, Texas-based solution provider Ping Technology plans to target when it begins selling the Treo 300 soon, said Jeff Moody, president of the company. "These products allow people to break free from their offices and still do office tasks. It makes their lives more convenient," Moody said. "We also have strong ties to the legal community. The Treo 300 allows attorneys to be more efficient when they're in an inefficient spot, such as an airport or a car. It can increase their productivity and allow them additional revenue."

The Treo 300, which is sold by both Sprint and Handspring, is based on the Palm OS and was officially unveiled in August, when Sprint PCS launched its nationwide next-generation wireless network. Handspring is working with several ISVs to develop applications for the Treo 300 including mobile enterprise software, CRM solutions and support for Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes. Lucrative revenue opportunities exist for solution providers from the integration of these applications.

"The customer sees a great product plus Sprint service, but they want their enterprise e-mail solution on it," said Kendall Fargo, Handspring's vice president of corporate and government sales. "Handspring and Sprint are good at selling products and airtime service, but we don't know anything about setting up services and doing integration work, and therefore, we recognize that we really do need the channel for this."

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Aside from the integration of e-mail and other applications, several other revenue streams exist for solution providers.

"This product will drive infrastructure upgrades. You have to upgrade technology based on the wireless capability to make sure you can provide remote access all the time," DiCostanzo said. "Plus, if you offer a customer constant access to their e-mail and network, you have to make sure the network is always working, so it gives us the opportunity to provide 24x7 monitoring."

Both Sprint and Handspring provide channel support to assist in sales of the Treo 300.

"One of the huge things that we bring to this channel is access to our direct-sales force in a cooperative manner, not a competitive one," said Ryan Slack, director of Sprint PCS' Business Solutions Program. Sprint trained its 1,400 salespeople nationwide to work with solution providers, he added. For instance, if a customer requires integration of e-mail or other applications, the Sprint sales rep will hand off the sale to a local solution provider but still receive compensation for it. In turn, solution providers can work with local Sprint representatives for any assistance they might need.

Handspring provides additional sales assistance through MarketLink, a San Ramon, Calif.-based marketing outsourcer that the vendor recruited in July. "MarketLink visits leads, gives them product demos, and when a customer gets interested, they bring in a VAR to do the sale and integration," Fargo said.

Another strong incentive to sell the Handspring Treo 300 is the excellent margins that solution providers can make on the device. Solution providers can receive margin on the front end for the sale of the product from Handspring and on the back end for sale of the service from Sprint.

The Treo 300 is sold through Ingram Micro and Global Wireless Data, and the former sees it as a strong component of its wireless offerings, said Kathy Riggs, director of vendor business management at the distributor.