Access Distribution Adds Vignette

Access Distribution also will offer service, education and maintenance programs to solution providers, said Grant Hunter, vice president of the Enterprise Solutions Group at the Westminster, Colo., distributor.

"We are adding the leading enterprise player in this space. From their solutions in the portal, collaboration, records and document management space, we can go to market with a complete Java stack in this sector," Hunter said. "They are a strong Sun partner. For us, they have the perfect solutions to take to VARs."

Access Distribution becomes the first distributor for Vignette, said Mark Belles, vice president of strategic alliances and business development at Vignette, Austin, Texas.

"We are looking to gain expansion to new markets, including the midmarket, where we will make it crystal clear to our field sales force that those opportunities will go exclusively thorugh the channel," Belles said.

Vignette defines the midmarket it is targeting through solution providers as companies with $250 million or less in annual revenue.

In addition, solution providers can work with Vignette on enterprise accounts, Belles said. The developer is changing its compensation plans for its field sales force to be more channel friendly, Belles said. He declined to detail how the compensation plans would work.

"The upside to the sales force for working with these partners is they will receive credit for limited or no involvement [for midmarket opportunities]," Belles said. "We also recognize VARs have enterprise level relationships. We have told the sales force they will engage with the VAR community, just like they would with a systems integrator or technology partner, where and when they add value."

Access Distribution and Vignette want to sign about to eight to 10 solution providers over the next few months, Belles said.

"We initially will be focused on the portal and collaboration space and the Sun relationship is one we are going to leverage," Belles said. "Documents and records management and storage are a natural extension and we will work with those VARs to clothe their storage sales with document management and storage solutions."