Tech Data Adds IBM MaaS360 with Watson to Cloud Marketplace

**Editor’s Note: Click here for our recently compiled list of new products and services.**

The latest addition to Tech Data’s StreamOne Cloud Marketplace is IBM MaaS360 with Watson, a unified endpoint management (UEM) offer for Windows, MacOs, iOS and Android devices, the distributor announced Tuesday.

IBM MaaS360 is an enterprise-grade UEM tool supporting smartphones and tablets, laptops and desktops, ruggedized devices, wearables and internet of things (IoT), while Watson provides actionable insights and contextual analytics to help organizations with strategic planning and tactical challenges with UEM. MaaS360’s Cloud Extender easily connects devices to file stores, cloud services and email systems, the company said.

Tech Data’s Stacy Nethercoat

“Delivering IBM MaaS360 via our StreamOne platform is designed to simplify and streamline the process for resellers to provide a comprehensive security solution for their end customers while reducing costs,” said Stacy Nethercoat, vice president, cloud solutions, Americas at Tech Data. Tech Data and IBM have a long strategic partnership, and IBM has introduced many cloud offers over the past couple of years.

“On the SaaS side, most of IBM’s offers, up until MaaS360, have been annual subscriptions, which behave more like a software license, but MaaS360 with Watson is truly a monthly cloud subscription,” Nethercoat told us, adding that she expects there will be more to come.

While unable to say exactly how many SaaS products IBM will add to the StreamOne platform by year-end, Nethercoat is certain that there will be more true monthly subscription offers.

“We are extremely pleased to make our IBM offerings available via Tech Data’s StreamOne Cloud Marketplace, a proven digital marketplace for procuring client solutions,” said Dorothy Copeland, vice president, IBM global business partners, North America, at IBM. “MaaS360 with Watson gives organizations a comprehensive platform to help secure and manage the strategic endpoints, enabling them to deliver a robust, end-user-friendly BYOD strategy. Procuring MaaS360 through StreamOne is simple and cost-effective, giving us the ability to better reach solution providers looking to build out or enhance their mobile and security practices.”

On the software side, IBM products have been viewed as more appropriate for mid-tier and enterprise customers. The IBM MaaS360 aims to change that.

“IBM has been viewed as having a more complex buying process with certification requirements, but with this offer IBM is opening up its portfolio – SMBs to the enterprise are all welcome to it – but it [MaaS360 with Watson] is an offer that would work very well from the mid-tier down to SMB-size company,” Nethercoat said.

The new IBM offer doesn’t require any certifications or any investments allowing partners to get their customers up and running quickly.

Ingram Micro announced the addition of IBM’s MaaS360 with Watson to its Cloud Marketplace in December.