For Eaton channel partners, the value proposition continues to expand on two major fronts: the portfolio of products managed service providers (MSPs) can add to their revenue stream as a result of the Tripp Lite acquisition, and the ability to remotely monitor customers’ power infrastructure through full integration with ConnectWise Manage.
Completed in March 2021, the Tripp Lite acquisition merges two channel-friendly companies for a powerful combination of power management and peripherals offerings, according to Hervé Tardy, vice president of marketing and strategy for the critical power and digital infrastructure division of Eaton. The complementary product offerings will enhance the breadth of Eaton’s edge computing and distributed IT product portfolio.
While Eaton’s focus has been on UPS and rack PDU offerings, Tripp Lite brings peripheral power and connectivity products to the table too—cabling solutions, power strips, surge protectors, and more. There is very little overlap in the product offerings, Tardy explains, with UPS and rack PDU a smaller portion of Tripp Lite sales. In addition, Tripp Lite’s channel focus has been at the distribution level, with more transactional resellers, whereas Eaton’s partner program has been designed to enhance MSP recurring revenue opportunities.
By the end of 2022, according to Tardy, Eaton’s 3,500 MSP partners will have access to Tripp Lite’s complete line. The peripherals and connectivity products “are all categories that Eaton reseller partners can take advantage of to expand their share of wallet with existing customers,”Tardy notes. “These product lines are growing very fast, and this is where we are seeing the greatest revenue-boosting opportunity for PowerAdvantage partners.”
What’s Your Opportunity with Eaton?
- Drive productivity
- Reduce risk of downtime
- Gain recurring revenue
The merged entities will offer Eaton’s MSP partners greater competitive advantage too, Tardy says. For example, “Tripp Lite is bringing a fantastic product line for rack enclosures. They’re also No. 1 in the market for wall-mount enclosures and wall-mount enclosures are really what you need if you’re talking about edge-computing solutions.”
Managing Smarter
In addition to new revenue opportunities, Eaton has been working to help MSPs increase efficiency and provide even better power management service for their customers. The full integration of ConnectWise Manage with Eaton’s IPM 2 power management software, available to partners in December 2021, expands remote monitoring and management capabilities to include Eaton power infrastructure, as well as provides tools to automate disaster avoidance tasks.
While integration with ConnectWise and other RMMs had been available using SNMP, the added functionality reduces the risk of downtime for MSPs’ customers, plus provides more recurring revenue opportunities. In addition to the ability to deploy an unlimited number of Eaton UPSs and rack PDUs with the security that the hardware can be effectively monitored, the ConnectWise integration allows users to track numerous power issues. With the ability to set alarm notifications to uncover key trends—including UPS capacity/runtime, battery health, temperature, and other parameters—MSPs can stay apprised of conditions indicating a potential failure and take proactive steps to correct it.
With the ConnectWise integration, “it’s going to be much faster for MSPs to detect the issues,” Tardy stresses.
For PowerAdvantage partners, 2022 is bringing an expanded value proposition, he adds. “It’s kind of a dream team that we are creating right now, in combining the strengths of both Eaton and Tripp Lite, plus the addition of the ConnectWise integration.”
