Distributor Tech Data Corp. has rolled out an end-to-end services program aimed at helping its partners create, implement, and support hardware-based solutions.
Targeted at both original equipment manufacturers and solution providers, the new offering includes assistance with design, integration, installation, support, and asset disposition.
The portfolio also includes an associated set of business development and management services for tasks such as customer acquisition, enablement, contract renewal, and license compliance.
“Our services portfolio adds a new dimension to distribution,” said John O’Shea, Clearwater, Fla.-based Tech Data’s senior vice president of global lifecycle management services for the Americas, in prepared remarks. “Leveraging our unparalleled depth, breadth of expert capabilities and comprehensive end-to-end portfolio, we have designed these services to free up capital from our customers’ businesses so they can apply it to more strategic areas, such as transformation, innovation and customer-facing resources.”
Services play a core part in Tech Data’s strategic efforts to prepare itself for a new era of distribution in which cloud computing renders traditional “pick, pack, and ship” capabilities less relevant. The company significantly scaled up its service operation last year following the close of its $2.6 billion purchase of Avnet Technology Solutions, a former unit of Phoenix-based Avnet Inc. with extensive services and solutions expertise.
“We are excited to see this comprehensive set of services and capabilities being brought to market by a single provider,” said David Dwyer, vice president of supply chain and operations at Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, in a press statement. “The launch of this portfolio will present a full slate of product and customer support services to the market, providing customers the ability to focus on their core business while knowing they have the best possible partner to amplify day-to-day support for their products and customers.”
Other services introduced by Tech Data In recent months include a managed mobility offering and a proof of concept program for cloud analytics solutions that includes a services component. The company has also recently launched a new methodology for developing solution practices that include services in next-generation markets such cloud computing, security, and the Internet of Things.
Two of Tech Data’s top competitors—Ingram Micro Inc., of Irvine, Calif., and SYNNEX Corp., of Fremont, Calif.—are building services into their strategic plans as well. Ingram, for example, introduced a program last November that lets resellers outsource project management duties to the distributor’s in-house specialists. SYNNEX, for its part, is staking much of its future around a curated list of end-to-end solutions that combine services with relevant hardware and software.
