OREANDA-NEWS. June 13, 2012. MERLION has signed a contract with Hitachi Data Systems, which grants MERLION distributor rights in Russia and Tajikistan from April 2012. The contract covers the whole line-up of the manufacturer – data storage systems, Rack- and Blade-servers, reported the press-centre of MERLION. 

MERLION has begun selling Hitachi Data Systems equipment in July 2011 after receiving a contract with the vendor as one of the assets acquired along with Verysell Distribution company. MERLION did not just derive distributor contracts as the outcome of the transaction. The distributor plans to actively develop VAD-distribution and to make investments into this field, including investments into the business with HDS. The results of 9 months of cooperation have been very positive for both sides and the companies intend to expand their common business.

"HitachiDataSystems is one of the largest producers of data storage systems in the world and in Russia. It is very important for us to keep and expand this cooperation, Anton Lukyanov, procurement director of MERLION comments on the contract. Moreover, HDS has been rapidly developing its north direction in the latest years, which is also a good business prospective for us.

The equipment of this producer is marked with a maximum degree of reliability and it is in great demand from partners and clients. That said, these solutions have a perfect quality-price ratio which provides an acceptable marginality and makes them alluring for the distributor and its partners.

Hitachi Data Systems is also content with the results of cooperation and plans to expand the partnership. "We see that MERLION rapidly develops its presence in the market of VAD-distribution, develops its competence in the field of data storage devices and servers, invests into sister services, said Alexandr Kochetkov, head of the partners relations department of Hitachi Data Systems in Russia and CIS countries. Therefore, we place great hopes for our cooperation and expect that it will allow us to strengthen our positions substantially in the Russian market. We from our part are also aimed at developing and strengthening of our strategic partnership".

According to the conditions of the contract we signed, MERLION got the status of ASP which allows it to provide its partners with services of installation and maintenance of data storage devices. This will allow MERLION to effectively expand its partner network by providing additional engineering services to all of its partners, particularly to those whose main competence is in other, closely related fields.

MERLION makes consistent investments into the development of business with Hitachi Data Systems. Currently MERLION is finishing the formation of a new department which will promote the products in the market. Beside sales specialists and project preparation specialists, there are also engineers who studied in HDS and have all the skills needed for service activities and maintenance which is confirmed by relevant certificates of the vendor. MERLION and Hitachi Data Systems expect that their cooperation will strengthen positions of both companies in the Russian IT-market and will support their leading positions.