ScanSource, Pax8, D&H Fire Up Hot Distributor News
Catch up with big news from your favorite distributors.
October 23, 2020
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ScanSource this week wrapped up its Virtual Partner Conference. The event attracted at least 1,000 registrants. The conference theme – The Power of Connections – refers to the work that ScanSource does in the channel.
“ScanSource wants to make sure it connects partners with ScanSource employees. So we want to be sure we have the right solutions in place, the right operational expertise, and that we connect partners with the right suppliers to make sure that they are successful,” said Ansley Hoke, senior vice president of marketing.
Additionally, the theme refers to conducting business during a pandemic. ScanSource is helping to navigate partners through this time and to connect them with new and incremental ways to grow.
In keeping with that goal, ScanSource announced that its Cascade automated platform is now available to Cisco customers. Cascade provides what the company says is a seamless quote-to-order process, simplifying and accelerate their SaaS business.
The Cascade cloud platform landed at ScanSource with the acquisition of intY in July 2019.
As a follow-up to its Virtual Partner Conference, ScanSource offers PowerHours. The one-hour thought leadership sessions are scheduled for Nov. 9-11.
TBI, the master agent and tech distributor, updated and redesigned OnDemand, its partner portal. The technology brokerage company added tools and improved capabilities.
New features include advanced commission analysis, sales funnel management, order management and client analytics.
“TBI OnDemand was designed with the partner experience in mind, delivering new best-of-breed tools all in one place. This is only the beginning. Our road map is packed with updates to further grow our toolset: additional automation to provide faster sales results; greater business intelligence to help partners delve deeper into their business and identify high growth areas; and machine learning and artificial intelligence on the back end to lead partner actions and discover patterns that humans could not see. TBI is committed to helping our partners be more successful and grow in ways they never thought they could before, and the OnDemand platform supports that,” said David Cullum, TBI’s director of artificial and business Intelligence.
D&H Distributing reports that since the relaunch of its sales enablement team, in late 2019, the number of partners using the team is growing. And partner success is up. Three times the number of partners access the team across all its service areas.
So, what is this team? The sales enablement team is comprised of subject matter experts – vendor, technology or vertical – and certified engineers. They work with partners during the presales process and help them determine the customer’s needs for their deployments.
“The team gives resellers and MSPs access to professionals who have demonstrated hands-on success with deployments,” said Jeff Hunt, sales engineer manager at D&H who leads the team. “We help those partners build a total solution, not just an isolated piece of one, with consideration for their costs and the requirements of their end customers. It’s about bringing people together and accomplishing their goals.”
Vendors win with partners.
That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), dubbed “Distribution’s Edge: An Economic Analysis of Routes to Market for ICT Products and Services.
The report researchers looked at three routes to market and the debate swirling around each of them. The three covered in the report include direct, single-tier indirect and partner-led indirect. The authors examine sales data, market data tabulated by industry researchers, and financial information from leading technology vendors and distributors. Additionally, they interview thought leaders, channel practitioners, and technology developers.
Pax8, the cloud distributor, this week signed an agreement with 8×8 to offer its Open Communications Platform to its U.S. partners. Pax8 joined the 8×8 Open Channel Program as a strategic partner.
The Open Communications Platform is a single, all-in-one communications platform. It combines cloud phone, video collaboration, team chat, contact center and analytics.
“By partnering with 8×8, we can further empower the modern partner to maximize business growth and revenue opportunities,” said Ryan Walsh, chief product officer and channel chief at Pax8. “8×8 is a leader in cloud communications, and as a channel-first company they make business easy. We are thrilled to join forces with 8×8 and work together to support our partners as they help clients accelerate their digital transformation efforts, ensure business resilience, and enhance employee experience and engagement.”
CloudBlue, Ingram Micro’s cloud platform division, is all about digital commerce. The business recently announced that seven new partners joined its Go-to-Market (GTM) Fast Track program.
CloudBlue’s GTM Fast-Track helps scale and accelerate the end-to-end GTM launch for intellectual property (IP) owners and CSPs.
“The status quo is not an option for the leading global solution providers CloudBlue partners with,” said Tarik Faouzi, vice president of CloudBlue. “We designed the GTM Fast-Track Program to empower these partners and help them overcome the myriad growth challenges they face. We are excited to work with these companies to scale their business and better enable their partner networks.”
The CloudBlue Go-to-Market and Acceleration Services unit spearheads accelerated growth in net-new and existing markets for partner companies across its footprint. GTM and acceleration services lead strategy, channel mapping, business development, multivendor value proposition execution and value proposition-led sales enablement. These services are delivered through the global GTM Fast-Track program.
CloudBlue, Ingram Micro’s cloud platform division, is all about digital commerce. The business recently announced that seven new partners joined its Go-to-Market (GTM) Fast Track program.
CloudBlue’s GTM Fast-Track helps scale and accelerate the end-to-end GTM launch for intellectual property (IP) owners and CSPs.
“The status quo is not an option for the leading global solution providers CloudBlue partners with,” said Tarik Faouzi, vice president of CloudBlue. “We designed the GTM Fast-Track Program to empower these partners and help them overcome the myriad growth challenges they face. We are excited to work with these companies to scale their business and better enable their partner networks.”
The CloudBlue Go-to-Market and Acceleration Services unit spearheads accelerated growth in net-new and existing markets for partner companies across its footprint. GTM and acceleration services lead strategy, channel mapping, business development, multivendor value proposition execution and value proposition-led sales enablement. These services are delivered through the global GTM Fast-Track program.
Distributors such as ScanSource and Pax8, and master agents like TBI were busy in October.
We rounded up news from D&H Distributing, CloudBlue – a division of Ingram Micro – Pax8, ScanSource, TBI and the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC). If you haven’t read the new GTDC report on routes to market, you should. It’s an eye-opener about strategies for IT companies and how three key go-to-market strategies shape up. And, without giving away too much (wink, wink), it spells out why two-tier distribution is a win for IT vendors.
It’s been a busy month for virtual conferences. If ScanSource’s Virtual Partner Conference (VPC) is one that got away, fear not. The main event was recorded and is available on-demand for the next 30 days. Want more? Extending its messaging and engagement with partners, there’s the upcoming Power Week from ScanSource. There are one-hour (virtual) sessions, called PowerHours, with expert speakers. PowerHours run Nov. 9-11. Read more about it in the slideshow above, in addition to the latest news from the distributor.
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