Tech Data Resellers Adopt Software, Cloud; Lexmark Channel Chief Talks Print Opportunity

(Pictured above: Tech Data’s Marty Bauerlein on stage at Tech Data TechSelect in Orlando, Oct. 2.)

TECH DATA TECHSELECT — Tech Data‘s SMB partner base is contributing heavily to the company’s growth.

Tech Data’s Marty Bauerlein

Take that from Marty Bauerlein, Tech Data’s senior vice president of sales for North America, who thanked partners for recently helping his sales team rack up the highest sales day in the distributor’s history. Bauerlein was speaking to the Tech Select reseller community, whose 419 members target the SMB and midmarket segments.

“Our goal with Tech Select is to make sure you guys perform, and performance pays bills. And we all work together in this community to help each other out and to support each other for growth,” Bauerlein said.

Growth Numbers for Tech Data’s TechSelect Partner Community

Bauerlein praised how the now 20-year-old Tech Select community has grown. More than half of Tech Select (52%) was earning less than $500,000 per year with Tech Data in 2010, while only 7% were earning more than $10 million. Now, 14% of partners earn more than $10 million and just 28% earn less than $500,000.

And the resellers’ portfolios are also maturing. Software and cloud accounted for their largest technological growth area at 31%.

“As we’ve grown this community over the last four years, we’ve seen even greater growth in the advanced side and next-generation technologies, which is great because it falls right in line with our strategy,” said Joe Quaglia, Tech Data’s president of the Americas. “Investing in next-generation capabilities and enabling our partners to accelerate those into the market — because that’s where most of the growth is going to be. And we believe we’ve seen it now over the last couple of years, and perhaps over the next three to five.”

Tech Data’s Joe Quaglia

Quaglia told Channel Futures earlier in the week that partners have been asking about the investment and enablement Tech Data is offering to help them sell technologies like security, analytics and IoT.

“I would say there has been a heightened awareness and a heightened level of interest this year compared to last year,” Quaglia said. “I think partners are realizing that if they don’t start to pivot and transform their own businesses from traditional to next-generation, they’re going to be a little bit behind. And now they’re really starting to engage and immerse in the enablement programs that we have to help them transition to the next-generation technology.”

Quaglia and Tech Data CEO Rich Hume noted in their Tuesday keynotes that SMB/midmarket companies are the distributor’s fastest growing customer demographic.

“The cornerstone of that growth starts and ends with TechSelect, and your growth and your support have been outstanding,” Quaglia said.

Lexmark

Sammy Kinlaw, Lexmark‘s vice president of worldwide channel and OEM sales, explained why he chose to leave Lenovo to work for the laser printer provider. He initially didn’t accept the job offer because …… he was uncertain about the printing industry’s profit and growth potentials.

Lexmark’s Sammy Kinlaw

But further research into the market showed him that while demand for general printing isn’t going up, “transactional” printing is on the rise.

“If you think about a hospital discharge, buying a car, selling a house, contract negotiations, that does not go away. And it’s not going away in the foreseeable future,” Kinlaw said.

Printing remains an important “communication vehicle” that customers won’t talk about if it runs smoothly. But if there’s a malfunction, Katy bar the door.

“If it is not enabled, that means business stops – transaction stops – that makes customers mad,” he said. “And you have the opportunity to solution that for customers.”

About three-quarters of the TechSelect community sells print, with approximately 25% selling Lexmark, according to Kinlaw.