Auto-ID, RFID and point-of-sale specialty distributor BlueStar has created a new division to help its reseller customers bring emerging technologies to the government sector.
The Florence, Ky.-based distributor announced on Monday that it has brought former Ingram Micro government sales specialist Rudy Boroquez onboard to help build the division and craft education and training programs for solution providers who want to sell to the federal, state and local government and education vertical markets.
"Basically what we're doing here is implementing a government education program similar to some of the other distribution programs in the channel," said Boroquez. "We want to train our VARs and ISV and channel partners in POS and RFID and on how to go after the different government agencies that are using these products within their divisions."
RFID is of particular interest to the government, he said, as the Department of Defense has mandated that all boxes that enter government grounds must be identified and trackable. "Our main initiative right now is the RFID piece and one of the main players we're going to have on that is Itronix," said Boroquez. The division is also looking to build relationships with other emerging hardware vendors and ISVs.
"There are many things that we're going to pass on to our qualified government partners," said Boroquez. "The main thing is educating them on the government and how it shops. [Government agencies] have their own way of buying and doing things."
BlueStar is going after systems integrators that are currently working within the Beltway with the federal government as well as VARs who are interested in learning how to work with government and win government contracts.
Educational components of the division's programs will include training on government procurement, how to bid on government contracts and how to register with the government to be eligible to bid.
"BlueStar is registered in each of the 50 states to go after the state and local government business and we can design and help manage those mass contracts for those VARs with the contracts and the ones that don't have them that want to go after them," said Boroquez.
Before joining BlueStar in August, Bojorquez spent four years working on developing security solutions that would be in compliance with the Department of Homeland Security's initiatives with Alternative Technology as eastern regional manager.
Prior to that, Bojorquez was a government sales specialist with Ingram Micro where he helped create Ingram Micro's Partnership America Program. In that role he managed government business for more than 300 vendors in the channel.
