Iomega to team up with SIs to improve its value business

Changing its business focus from mass market to niche
segments, Iomega Pacific Pte is adding more thrust to this new initiative by
launching several products this year. The company has recently introduced a
range of products, mainly in the portable storage and patented REV (removable
hard disc drive) segment, besides getting into the much-hyped NAS market.

"We are creating a new layer of channels to handle this
value business and would appoint 75 partners called Iomega Value Added Resellers
(VARs) across the country. A new channel team will also be in place by early
next year," informed DR Baskaran, Business Development Manager (India &
Middle East), Iomega Pacific Pte.

DR BASKARAN Going aggressive on  markets with core focus  on B2B segment

In the current channel drive, the vendor will appoint only
solution providers to take its products and service in the market. "We are
already working with some system integrators (SIs) in the country and are now
increasing our focus to enhance relationship. The new set of VARs would
primarily be responsible for our business-to-business (B2B) products such as REV
and NAS boxes," he explained.

On the product side, the company has recently introduced
mini-hard disc drive with 4GB and 8GB capacity, mainly as an option to flash
drive devices, such as the pen drive. "It is more robust and reliable than
a flash drive. The product is attractively designed and is comparatively cheaper
than flash drives," claimed Baskaran.

Iomega also expanded its desktop external hard disc drive
family with the launch of 300GB and 400GB products. This is mainly targeted at
the home and SMB segment. "We have launched MiniMax, mainly for the Mac
environment, while it can be connected to a Windows-based PC too. MiniMax is
available in 160GB and 250GB capacity, and its 6-port (three USB and firewire
each) feature makes it to act as a hub when required," he detailed.

Another impending launch is the Iomega ScreenPlay. It is more than a jukebox,
allowing a user to download movie files and play it by directly connecting to
the television.