Cortex IT has struck up a new partnership with Westan to target the SMB market with network application storage devices.
The OEM agreement will see the local storage software vendor's BackupAssist product pre-configured on Westan Armastor NAS servers. The agreement is similar to relationships Cortex has with several overseas system integrators including US-based Web-hosting company, Inetu.net. But it is the first physical distribution model for the software company, which has only sold its products via the Web to date.
Cortex IT managing director, Linus Chang, cited increased visibility as the main reason for taking the product to the channel.
"Currently we have a very efficient sales model targeting people that search on the Internet," he said. "That means we have great return on investment for advertising dollars but not everyone does Internet searches. The offline market can be five or 10 times the size of online."
Cortex is keen to recruit Microsoft storage resellers in Australia and New Zealand that require lower end solutions at affordable prices.
The devices were based on Windows Storage Server 2003. Westan director of storage, Ken Anderson, said they would feature built-in backup for Windows Exchange and SQL Server.
"The NAS device is manufactured by Westan in Mount Waverly and the backup software is written just down the road in Box Hill by Cortex," he said. "So this is an exciting first for Australia and Westan."