Manufacturer Seeks ISPs With SMB Clients

EmergeCore, whose IT-100 sells for $1,395, understands that ISPs can be valuable channel partners in the small business tech market.

by ISP-Planet Staff [January 5, 2004]

EmergeCore's IT-100, featured previously in the article IT In a Box for Small Businesses, is a Linux-based box powered by a Transmeta Crusoe processor that does it all: mail server, router, wireless access point, DNS, NAT, DHCP, VPN, Web server, and more. Priced at $1,395, Dave Brown, president of EmergeCore, says it has been selling well to companies that fear they'll have to pay $10,000 to get what the IT-100 delivers.

At ISPCON, Brown told ISP-Planet that it was great to get a writeup from ISP-Planet, but that the business really started flourishing with attention from The Financial Times and Newsweek.

As EmergeCore cultivates clients in Germany and Japan and elsewhere worldwide, the company is nevertheless seeking ISPs with small business clients with its partner program. Says Brown, "we're getting a great response from U.S. ISPs. Now we're hiring sales reps in new regions. We're hiring really good people with in-depth sales experience. We're not just looking to put people on the bus to fill the seat."

The company has forgone advertising, working instead through trade shows and public relations. "ISPCON was great for us," says Brown. "We'll be back there in April."

Brown also praises his PR agency. "Our PR agency is Snapp Norris. I've used others before and it's nothing like what these guys can do. They opened the door. Of course, once the door is open, the product has to do what we've claimed it can do, and it has."

A former owner of an ISP himself (Boise, Idaho-based Cyberhighway), Brown knows that ISPs can serve as a valuable channel partner for manufacturers of inexpensive appliances.

"I never sell direct to the end customer," claims Brown. Instead, he says he sells through resellers. "Our resellers get discounts, and we do lead generation for them. There are no fees involved in lead generation. Say someone calls from Naples, Florida or e-mails us or we meet them at a trade show, we pass that information on to a reseller."

"We're looking for ISPs of all sizes, from the smallest ISP to the telco, with business customers of 25 seats or below."

The industry is trending in his direction, Brown feels. "The speakers at ISPCON were telling ISPs that they need to do more value-added services, and that they need to get beyond the DMARC. We help them do that," he says.

This week, EmergeCore will be at CES in Las Vegas in the Transmeta booth. If you miss them there, meet them at ISPCON in April.

— End