AOpen Relies On Partners To Service Education Market

The new AOpen for Education program promises consistent supply and local service to schools that typically cannot rely on either from any of their brand-name suppliers, said Paul Su, president of the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

AOpen is promising that at least four motherboards will be available for a minimum of one year with no changes whatsoever, including engineering and BIOS revisions, Su said. Those motherboards will be in stock locally to ensure supply for education customers.

The company also will make joint sales calls with channel partners to schools in their areas, and provide partners with customized cash-flow programs, just-in-time production and logistical support, educational events and training, Su said.

In return, he said, partners will have to ensure that schools can get immediate access to the support they need. For instance, they must be able to provide local build-to-order capability, tech support, delivery service and inventory service. "The inventory will be mine, but partners have to carry the parts locally," Su said. "We don't want the school to place an order they can't get right away."

Larry Gatza, owner of Tactical Business Services, a Crystal Lake, Ill.-based distributor and system builder, said he expects to roll out the program to nearly 130 solution providers in 14 states over the next few months.

"Many already work with AOpen," he said. "If they don't, this is an opportunity for them to do so." The only problem, added Gatza, is that schools have pretty much made their purchases for the coming school year. "We will hit them hard with the AOpen program next year," he said.