Azzurri to rationalise networking & comms portfolio

Senior management at Azzurri are planning to axe a number of networking and comms providers from the portfolio next year to procure more effectively.

The Surrey-based integrator currently houses eight data providers including BT, C&W, Griffin, Global Crossing and Virgin Media Business but that is set to change from next year, said CEO Mark Quartermaine.

"On the data side we use eight different suppliers right now and that means we don't buy particularly smartly," he said.

Along with Azzurri CFO Tim Maynard, Quartemaine will seek to "negotiate slightly better rates by rationalising [providers]" but does not plan to mirror KCOM's strategy of moving to one.

"I don't think we'll do what KCOM has done and outsource everything to BT because I'm not sure what value you are adding if you are tying yourself to one network, our independence is part of our value proposition," he told MicroScope.

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN, said vendors not prepared to negotiate with Azzurri may find themselves out in the cold.

"Consolidation will continue at all levels of the channel," he said.