VAR Lands A $250,000 Security/Web Performance Sale
This integrator combined identity management and Web performance products to provide an enterprise security solution for a biotechnology company.
Entisys Solutions, Inc. is a consulting and professional services company that resells technology products and performs integration services. Mike Strohl, president of Entisys, says his company grew at a rate of 35% in 2006 with sales in excess of $12 million. Strohl is projecting sales of $15 million for 2007. Much of that continued growth will be generated from Entisys consulting services and sales of Citrix network security and performance products. As a matter of fact, Entisys' sales of Citrix products increased by 60% when comparing 2005 with 2006. This increase was due to changes in the company's sales approach, changes in its relationship with Citrix, local economic growth, the acquisition of another company, and improved hiring practices.
Look For Opportunities Within Existing Accounts
Recently, Entisys was called into a biotechnology company with 500 users to evaluate the customer's network. The organization was an existing Entisys customer; however, the company had purchased its existing Citrix MetaFrame XP product from another reseller. During the consultation process, Entisys learned that users were experiencing network performance issues, and multiple systems meant multiple sign-ons for users. The organization was running an outdated version of Citrix MetaFrame XP. After the evaluation, Entisys recommended a group of Citrix products to address the overall performance and network security requirements, while eliminating support issues associated with the older MetaFrame version.
Entisys proposed the Citrix Presentation Server to deliver access to its applications. Presentation Server enabled the organization to centrally deploy and manage its applications while providing users with secure, on-demand access to those resources, regardless of the users' locations. Entisys also recommended Citrix Password Manager to provide single sign-on capabilities.
The customer had a need to support users from remote locations as well. "With users attaching to the network from various access points, we recommended Citrix Access Gateway and Smart Access Controls," explains Strohl. The Access Gateway is an appliance that provides a secure, always-on, single point of access to the organization's applications and data. The Smart Access Controls software provides identity-driven access with sense-and-respond technology. Users may be granted different levels of access to the network depending on who and where users are and what device and network they're using.
Provide Load Balancing For Web Applications
The Web servers at this organization were a major focal point for the services delivered. "We determined that the Citrix NetScaler would be the solution to provide load balancing for the Web servers," explains Strohl. All these products — Citrix Presentation Server, Citrix Password Manager, Citrix Access Gateway, Citrix Smart Access Controls, and Citrix NetScalers — were sold by Entisys as a recommendation from the original consultation with the customer. In all, the customer invested more than $250,000 in Citrix products, integration services, and training from Entisys. The installation of all products and training took place over a five-month period.
The return on investment for this installation has not been measured. Strohl points out that this upgrade was due, at least in part, to the end-of-life cycle on the older Citrix product and the desire to provide an enhanced end user experience. "In this case, the customer did not base its decision on an ROI calculation," explains Strohl.
"Our preliminary results from partnering with Citrix have been very positive," says Strohl. VARs can learn from the success of Entisys. This is a company that has figured out how to match its strategy with its key vendor. How do you plan to grow your business by at least 35% this year? Strohl suggests you start by strengthening relationships with your key vendors.