Solarweb delivers Licensing @ Westcoast to boost license sales
Date: 20th February 2008
PRESS RELEASE
Fully-automated tool streamlines Microsoft licensing sales
Westcoast, the leading supplier of IT products to the reseller channel, has launched Licensing @ Westcoast (The L@W), a service which will revolutionise the way its reseller customers sell Microsoft software licenses.
The L@W tool was built using technology from software developer Solarweb and its “licenseme” platform.
Westcoast acts as a distributor for many of the IT industry’s best known brands and was appointed as an authorised Microsoft licensing distributor in 2007, to focus on the SME and independent retail sectors.
The L@W will give the distributor’s resellers a faster, cost-effective and more profitable route to selling Microsoft licensing to their customers. As a fully-automated sales tool, it speeds-up and simplifies software licence sales, eliminating potential errors that can damage the profitability of this line of business. It also identifies the most appropriate licensing programme for any given organisation, and builds quotes using automatically downloaded product information.
In some cases, 25% of licence orders are rejected by vendors due to errors introduced during the sales process. Correcting these mistakes can be costly and can damage relationships with customers.
Duncan Forsyth, Westcoast Managing Director, said: “With the launch of L@W, Westcoast is unpicking the complex web facing many resellers when it comes to selling software profitably. Selling software licences has traditionally been a complex affair, requiring a licensing specialist within a reseller’s sales team. This has been a barrier to many resellers who know there are opportunities to sell Microsoft software licences but lack the internal resources to handle this business confidently. L@W offers resellers a simple, profitable alternative – no more manual keying in product codes, no more assigning customers to the wrong licensing programme, and no more reliance on having a licensing specialist.”
Developed specifically for software sales teams within resellers and distributors, licenseme from Solarweb enables any sales person to produce a detailed software licence quotation for a customer, confident that they have access to all the latest product and pricing information.
The sales person is prompted by the tool to ask the right questions, which then leads to the most appropriate licence scheme for their customer, and automatically generates the order for the licences once the sale has been completed.
Duncan Forsyth continued: “Solarweb immediately got to the heart of what we wanted to achieve, thanks to their knowledge of Microsoft licensing schemes, coupled with their experience of developing applications that simplify complex transactions. The L@W is going to give our resellers a real competitive advantage, we expect they will experience increases in sales and profit from their Microsoft licensing efforts.
Barney Light, Solarweb Technical Director, said: “The complex nature of software licensing programmes can be a challenge to navigate when selling licences to end-users. Because of the automation of so much of the sales process, licenseme empowers software sales teams by providing them with all the information and updates they need to sell the right Microsoft licensing products and programmes to their customers. This made it the perfect foundation for the L@W.”
About Solarweb
Solarweb is a software applications developer with specific expertise in a number of important practice areas. One of these is software licensing; Solarweb is the UK’s leading expert in software licensing issues and develops tools that help businesses negotiate this highly complex area. Solarweb developed the MPLA licensing configurator for Microsoft, and is currently working with other leading companies on similar initiatives.
About Westcoast
Established in 1984, Westcoast has become a leading national wholesale distributor within the UK. Westcoast has built a product portfolio spanning the whole computing spectrum, ranging from desktop PC and notebook products through to high end server solutions, network products, printers, peripherals, related accessories, consumables and home entertainment products. Westcoast adopts a focused approach to both product range and customer account management. The increasing emphasis on these two issues has enabled the company to enjoy constant growth.
Press contact
Sean Fleming / Hayley Roberts, Clarity PR
Tel: +44 (0)0118 946 9260
e-mail: press@claritypr.co.uk
