Rebit Backup Targets SMBs

Company:

Headquarters: Longmont, Colo.

Technology Sector: Storage

Key Product: Rebit Backup

Year Founded: 2005

Number of Channel Partners: 120 in North America

Ideal Channel Partner: Small business-focused solution providers

Why You Should Care: Rebit's backup products are designed with consumers and SOHO users in mind, making them easy for VARs to implement and manage. And, coming soon: SMB products for growing customers.

The Lowdown: Rebit is looking to build its backup business from the ground up, while adding solution providers also looking to build from the ground up.

The Longmont, Colo.-based vendor launched its backup products geared toward consumer and small office/home office clients, but as those customers grow, Rebit plans to grow along with them. The company plans to launch higher-end products, featuring NAS connections, for small-business clients by the end of the year.

Rebit's backup products were designed to be easy for consumers, SOHO and very small businesses to understand, said Norton Ewart, product line manager at Rebit. "For an organization that does not have an IT department on staff, they can also rely on a VAR for their IT support."

By the end of the year, Rebit expects to expand its product line to more complex backup solutions, while keeping the small business market as its target customer.

"We're going to have more small-biz friendly backup to network attached storage backup policy management and things like that that go beyond the skills of a home user," Ewart said.

Partners may also find Rebit's products easier to implement than those from competitors because they were designed for even consumers to understand, he said.

Charlene Murphy, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Rebit, said more than half of the company's sales are indirect, with the percentage expected to rise.

"We offer support into the company and access to promos and special deals that are for our partners only. Every four to six weeks we have a training Webinar, and we're putting together an online training program for VARs," Murphy said. "We're coming up with more business-focused products, including a NAS solution, but the key is all the solutions have the same look and feel, the same user interface, the same consistency for a customer, whether it's direct attach or a road warrior with a USB attach."