AppRiver Announces First UK Distributor – Blue Solutions
Blue Solutions are the first UK distributor for AppRiver, the email messaging and web security solutions provider.
AppRiver, a leading provider of email messaging and Web security solutions, confirmed its first UK distributor. Blue Solutions, a consultancy-led software distributor, is to add all AppRiver’s products to its portfolio – including Office365 Plus and Secure Hosted Exchange, all with the additional flexibility afforded from monthly billing - a deviation to yearly contracts imposed by many other vendors. The partnership is already yielding results with two Blue Solutions’ customers currently trialling Office365 Plus.
We’re extremely excited by the opportunities this partnership opens up to us, not least a customer waiting to trial one of AppRiver’s services before the ink was even dry on our agreement,” said Mark Charleton, co-founder and director of Blue Solutions. “With almost 20 years’ experience and seeing a lot of change in a competitive industry, we recognise the value of supporting MSPs and resellers in creating and building profitable I.T. businesses. Our transition from box shifters to a value add distributor means we focus on working with vendors who are committed to the channel and delivering viable solutions to SMBs. AppRiver is the perfect fit for us and its products will be a key addition to our portfolio, where we’re seeing demand, particularly for email security, encryption and hosted exchange. Add to that the flexibility of offering monthly commitments instead of annual contracts, combined with its ‘phenomenal care’ package, and we’ve two great differentiators that we know will be a winning combination.
The discontinuation of Microsoft’s Small Business Server has influenced the resultant demand for hosted Exchange and Office 365. However end-users now either have to invest in an Exchange server, which is expensive or commit to an annual contract. “That’s why AppRiver's unique offering is compelling for partners,” explains Mark. “It allows us to procure Office365 services which we can then offer to customers, in a flexible way they want and can afford.”
Addressing challenges from the recent channel evolution, Mark concludes, “The traditional vendor, distributor, reseller model has changed dramatically in recent years thanks mainly to cloud. We’ve first-hand experience of vendors, who think they don’t need a distributor, cutting us out of the equation – with varying degrees of success and failure. Finding vendors that are channel focussed, and distribution friendly, is a battle but AppRiver completely understand the value created by Blue Solutions.”
AppRiver offers its partners a management console, designed with the two tiers needed – a portal where Blue Solutions can log in and create its partners, and then a separate portal where resellers log in and create end users. Both can be branded accordingly.
Other AppRiver Partner benefits include:
• Recurring revenue in the rapidly growing market for email hosting and security solutions
• No set-up fees, up-front investments, certifications or minimum revenue requirements
• Affordable per-user, pay-as-you-go services that give greater flexibility and more control without hidden charges under the surface
• AppRiver’s Phenomenal Care™, 24/7 support to help customers navigate smoothly through any issues that arise
• Access to AppRiver University – its ongoing training and professional development program, offering regular webinars to keep partners up to date on the latest services release and upgrades.
Jim Tyer, EMEA channel Director adds, “We’re thrilled to have a partner with the experience, expertise and commitment of Blue Solutions. The fact it had a customer willing to trial on day one I think is testament to the contacts it has and the opportunities in the market at the moment. I’m convinced this will be a very successful partnership and prove beneficial to all concerned.”
To find out more about AppRiver and its products visit the AppRiver website
To find out more about Blue Solutions visit the Blue Solutions website
About AppRiver: AppRiver is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider offering award-winning email and Web security solutions to businesses of all sizes. Understanding the need to protect networks from today's increasingly complex IT threats, AppRiver offers businesses a comprehensive, yet affordable subscription-based solution that incorporates the latest spam and virus protection, email encryption and Web security on the market.
In addition, the company provides a complete managed service for Microsoft Exchange, as well as a bundled Office 365 solution. Since its inception, AppRiver has sustained an impressive 93% customer retention rate while growing its customer base to more than 47,000 companies and over 8 million mailboxes worldwide. The company maintains offices in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia and Switzerland, and is led by an Ernst & Young Florida Entrepreneur of the Year award winner. For more information, please visit the AppRiver website