ASCII Group Inks Pact With U.K. VAR Organization

The Bethesda, Md.-based VAR organization, whose membership includes 2,000 solution providers in North America, has signed an alliance with Brigantia Group, a similar group of 1,000 solution providers in the United Kingdom.

The partnership will enable ASCII and its members to have an international voice in negotiating discounts and other benefits from vendors and distributors, said Alan Weinberger, chairman and CEO of ASCII.

"CA wants to do some worldwide programs with us. Lenovo also wants to do that," Weinberger said. "The more volume you can do through one location with less duplication, the more efficient the manufacturer becomes. It makes a lot of sense."

Joe Balsarotti, president of Software To Go, a Clayton, Mo.-based solution provider and ASCII member, said a longer reach for the ASCII Group would help in negotiating better terms from vendors and allow members to compete with the terms that retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City often get.

"Anytime you can get more people together for a common goal, the better off you are. The idea that this is now an international organization makes the playing field a lot larger," Balsarotti said.

Brigantia will add the name ASCII EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) when negotiating contracts, Weinberger said.

Aside from vendor incentives, ASCII hopes the Brigantia relationship can lead to direct business opportunities between solution providers on opposite sides of the Atlantic. "This is definitely a partnership for business activity. A U.S. reseller may have a customer opening an office in the U.K. We have an affiliated member we can connect you with," Weinberger said.

Solution providers such as Balsarotti are hopeful to see that value from the relationship. "Hopefully, that will come out of this. It's a good step. I'm glad to see ASCII moving forward. It's one of the few organizations trying to do new things," he said. "Some things work out, some don't. But you have to try."

After integrating its European members, ASCII hopes to strike a similar accord with solution providers in India, Weinberger said. There is no existing organization resembling ASCII or Brigantia, he said.