01732 759725 08 NEWS : Distributors Cloud services platform launched by CMS CMS Distribution has launched a fully featured cloud platform that enables the channel to provide a full range of cloud services under their own brand, without the time, cost and complexity of running their own infrastructure. Services available from CMS Cloud powered by Flexiscale include pre-packaged virtual appliances, Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, Hosted Desktop and Hybrid Working Solutions. Nick Bailey, Director of Vendor Alliances at CMS Distribution, said: “With CMS Cloud we have the perfect vehicle to help VARs and resellers of all sizes to address their customers’ digital transformation needs, whilst keeping the full relationship with that customer. Offering this service means that our partner base can more easily move to consumptive IT and all the benefits that go with that.” David Pratt, Flexiscale Sales and Marketing Director, added: “This is a huge opportunity for the channel, opening up new revenue streams in the lucrative cloud services market. The value-added solutions that the partnership between CMS and Flexiscale brings arm the channel with a compelling solution to compete and win against the hyperscalers, whilst giving end customers tailored, value-add cloud solutions. The recurring monthly revenue cloud model plays well in uncertain economic times, whilst providing a predictable revenue stream. Additionally, end customers no longer need to make upfront capex investments in expensive hardware, software and support and instead can move IT costs to an easyto-manage predictable monthly operational expense.” www.cmsdistribution.com GoTo distributor of the year ASM Technologies was named UKI Distributor of the Year 2021 at the UKI & Nordics Partner Summit held in March by GoTo, previously known as LogMeIn. The awards honour the top distributors and resellers of the company’s UnifiedCommunications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) products, GoToConnect and GoTo Contact Center, based on last year’s sales figures. The UK Partner of the Year 2021 (in conjunction with ASM) was awarded to ComputaCenter; Top Deal of 2021 (again in conjunction with ASM) went to Softcat; GoTo Partner of the Year 2021 was won by dgtek Technology Solutions. www.goto.com/partners Hikari and Tech Data bridge skills gap with Microsoft Power Centre of Excellence In co-operation with Hikari, a specialist provider of Microsoft Power Platform services, Tech Data has launched a Power Center of Excellence that enables solution providers in Europe to deliver high-speed app development and business process automation (BPA) for their end user customers. Microsoft’s Power Platform offers a set of tools built on the Azure cloud platform that can be used to automate processes, build solutions, analyse data and create virtual agents or applications with little or no coding required. Through its investment in the Power Center of Excellence, Tech Data is enabling its partners to accelerate their ability to deliver solutions covering business intelligence and insights consulting, lowcode app development, BPA and innovation as-a-service based on the Power Platform. The Power Center of Excellence is available to all Tech Data partners and their end customers through an automated engagement process that seamlessly passes requests for Power Platform services to the Power Center of Excellence’s team of business consultants and engagement managers. Denis Fouquet, Tech Data Vice President, Cloud and Software Solutions, Europe, said: “Post-pandemic, there is an increasing market demand for solutions that harness data to provide quick and easy access to actionable insights and efficiencies through digital innovation. The Power Platform Centre of Excellence opens a route for partners and end customers to address this opportunity by bridging the digital skills gap and accelerating their ability to develop apps and implement business process automation at high speed without the need to invest in their own consulting practices.” www.TDSYNNEX.com Market intelligence as a service Tech Data has launched a market intelligence as-a-service offering in conjunction with MarketsandMarkets. The pan-European agreement will enable Tech Data partners to integrate exclusive market intelligence and advisory consulting services into their offerings for business customers including analysis on megatrend categories such as artificial intelligence, big data, internet of things, connectivity, robotics, smart manufacturing and wearables. Customers will also be able to access consulting and advisory services, with insights from industry experts, to inform their planning and technology investment decision-making. Craig Smith, Tech Data Vice President, Analytics and IoT Solutions, Europe, said: “This agreement will help partners and end customers to equip themselves with robust, data-driven insights which will be a crucial differentiating asset as they guide business customers to make the right growth technology investments.” Mark Glasspool Craig Smith Tech Data expands services portfolio Tech Data has expanded its value-added services offering with new options for retailers and webstores and for partners wanting to offer installation and maintenance services on power protection solutions. For the former it has launched specialist sales training and customised merchandising services delivered in partnership with Retail Profiling Group. Available through Tech Data’s consumer services business unit, merchandising services range from a simple display refresh through to customised point-of-sale (POS), branded bay and demonstration units and the design and construction of entire category sections. For the latter it has introduced a range of installation and maintenance services on power protection solutions, covering all makes and models of UPS, as well as installation services for backup generators, cooling system, fire suppression equipment and replacement batteries. Maintenance options include fast response times to emergency call-outs, preventative maintenance visits (in or out of normal working hours), 24/7 support and remote monitoring. Mark Glasspool, Services Director at Tech Data UK, describes Tech Data’s services portfolio as the company’s ‘best kept secret’ and an area in which it aims to be more proactive. “We have always offered config services, for example, but we’ve been largely reactive. We’ve updated and simplified those services, invested in resource and streamlined processes, so we can work more closely with partners on opportunities. We have capacity to grow that business significantly and that’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for our partners, and we will also be bringing forward some new offerings.” Services offered by Tech Data include pre-delivery configuration, virtual warehousing, bill-and-hold (supply chain management), third-party logistics (3PL), managed print, trade-in for used devices, tech-as-a-service subscription options and now retail merchandising and power protection installation and maintenance services. https://uk.techdata.com/
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