In the latest phase of an ongoing campaign to ramp up its cloud computing business, Tech Data Corp. has added a new set of independent software vendors with products supporting Microsoft’s cloud platform to its Tech Data Cloud Solutions Store.
Announced in conjunction with the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor’s annual Channel Link conference, currently underway in Atlanta, Ga., the new offering enables Microsoft resellers to bundle add-on solutions from third-party vendors with Microsoft cloud products like Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics CRM.
“[It] allows them to differentiate, because they can bring a more complete solution to their end user,” says Stacy Nethercoat (pictured), vice president of Tech Data Cloud for the Americas. It also enables channel pros to increase the size and profitability of their Microsoft sales, she adds.
Cloud-to-cloud backup vendor Spanning Cloud Apps LLC, content management vendor Akumina Inc., and CRM vendors RapidStart CRM and Cirrus Insight are the inaugural members of the new ISV community. They join cloud services enablement provider BitTitan Inc. and cloud management vendor SkyKick Inc. in Tech Data’s existing ISV portfolio, with more firms to follow.
“We want to make sure that we’ve got the right breadth of solutions that address the right end user segments,” says Nethercoat. Though she declined to cite specific examples, Nethercoat said that future additions to the Microsoft ISV community will be vendors that target critical cloud workloads with strong market momentum that have also been thoroughly vetted by Tech Data technicians.
Today’s move comes partially in response to requests from Tech Data resellers looking for ways to add margin to their Microsoft deals, Nethercoat says. Partners also provided feedback on the specific ISVs Tech Data chose to ally with, as did Microsoft and the distributor’s own internal cloud team.
Tech Data is currently in the midst of an aggressive effort to drive more cloud sales through its channel. Other elements of that initiative include the hiring of new pre-sales solution architects, as well as field, inside sales, and operational support resources. The company has also introduced new tools for bundling hardware together with software and cloud solutions and made numerous upgrades to its StreamOne cloud marketplace, including workflow improvements and changes aimed at enabling users to search its growing cloud product catalog more easily.
“I’ve lost count of the enhancements that we’ve made to the StreamOne platform” in the last three months alone, Nethercoat says.
Efforts like that appear to be having an impact too. According to Nethercoat, Tech Data has been growing its cloud revenue 100 percent per quarter on a year-over-year basis for the last five quarters straight.
“We’ll probably beat that this year,” she says. “I don’t see us slowing down, honestly.”
