Channel Musical Chairs For Belkin, Aten

However, a Belkin executive said his company has launched a number of programs to increase its presence in the channel.

At least five employees of Belkin, a Compton, Calif.-based vendor of connectivity solutions ranging from cables to USB hubs and KVM switches, recently jumped ship to join competitor Aten, an Irvine, Calif.-based KVM vendor. Aten offers products under the Aten name through the channel and under the Iogear name through retailers and direct marketers.

Jeffrey Williams, former national account manager in the solution provider space at Belkin, is now senior sales manager at Aten. Williams, who started work at Aten Nov. 22 after eight years at Belkin, joins four former Belkin co-workers: Lisa Person, sales manager; Edgar Haren, product manager for Aten products; Emerson Mangabat, sales manager for Iogear products at Aten; and Keith Reinty, who handles product marketing for Aten and Iogear.

Williams said his goal is to sell more Aten products through the channel and to brand Aten as a premier brand in the KVM space. "Aten has done a superb job with OEMs but now wants to move its brand more into the VAR space," he said. "Just driving this base is a big goal of mine."

To drive that brand awareness, Williams said he plans to do more marketing at focused trade events such as CMP Media's XChange conferences. (CMP is the parent company of CRN.)

He also plans to work with large distributors to bring the Aten product line to a larger part of the channel market. "I will work to re-establish my relationships with the distributors," Williams said.

Meanwhile, at Belkin, Mark Reynoso, vice president of sales, said that rather than slowing its channel business, thr company is continuing to grow the resources dedicated to it.

Whereas a year ago Belkin had one team focused on the channel, the company now has three separate teams focusing on distribution, large solution providers and market verticals, said Reynoso.

About 30 percent of Belkin's business goes through the channel, which includes companies such as Insight and CDW. Meanwhile, the company's retail business dropped to less than 50 percent of overall revenue early this year as solution provider and OEM business scaled, he said.

Reynoso admitted that Belkin has not done a good job of changing the retail-focused perception at the expense of the channel. "Many people think of us as a cable company, but that is now less than 20 percent of our business and is dropping [in percentage terms]," he said. :Now our A/V product and wireless products are growing more rapidly."

Recent additions to Belkin's roster include a product development team for the solution provider and business-to-business space, said Reynoso. The team focuses on product packaging for retail vs. business users, he said. For example, a cable for the retail market might have a blister pack, compared with a multipack for the channel, he said. Also, wireless products are different for small-office users and home users, he said.

Despite the recent departures, Belkin's sales organization head count is actually growing monthly, said Reynoso. "In terms of sheer numbers, our breadth and depth is growing in this space. The great news is that, at the same time, the age and experience of the people is growing."